Geographical indications for agricultural products: Difficult to create, even more difficult to maintain

Many years have passed, but when mentioning the story of Trung Nguyen coffee and Ben Tre coconut candy being registered for geographical indications in China and then leading to lawsuits, surely everyone remembers.

Nowadays, the requirements for food safety and traceability are increasing, so it is necessary for agricultural products to have geographical indications. Registering and being granted geographical indications is a long process, requiring a lot of effort from the locality, businesses, and farmers. Maintaining geographical indications associated with the quality of agricultural products is more difficult and hundreds, thousands of times more expensive, but it is a must.

Mr. Bui Duong Thuat, Director of Mekong Fruit Import-Export Company Limited, said that his company has exported Ben Tre green coconuts to 10 countries. In 2017 alone, the company exported 150 containers of coconuts to the United States. However, all old and new partners, in their order emails, could only write "Ben Tre green coconut" but they could not know what kind of green coconut it was to have the flavor they wanted. Since January this year, Ben Tre province has been granted a geographical indication for "Green Coconut" with specific standards and quality control, so customers know clearly and feel more secure when specifically stating the name of this item in the contract.

The example of Mekong company partly shows that geographical indications for agricultural products are necessary and important in agricultural export. But why has Vietnam only protected 66 geographical indications so far? That is because the process to obtain a geographical indication is quite long and costly. Then, to maintain the geographical indication by the quality of agricultural products is even more costly and requires the joint efforts of growers and traders.

Mr. Phan Van Mai, Standing Deputy Secretary of Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee, where two products, Green Coconut and Green-Skin Pomelo, have just been granted geographical indications, said that the procedures to propose recognition of geographical indications for Ben Tre's Green Coconut and Green-Skin Pomelo took about 2 years.

Mr. Pham Xuan Da, Director of the Southern Affairs Department, Ministry of Science and Technology, also admitted that the 66 geographical indications that Vietnam is protecting are too small a number compared to the regional specialties that we have. Geographical indications bring additional economic value to agricultural products, which is very clear, but to build and maintain them is extremely difficult.

"In the past, we spent 1 dong to make geographical indications, but now I think we have to spend 1,000 dong to develop and maintain dealer indications. This is just the first step. The value of geographical indications is high because people can standardize products, ensuring higher quality products. So to do that, we have to manage varieties and standardized farming processes to be able to affix geographical indication labels," Mr. Da shared.

Consumers pay more to know how the products they use are produced, whether they are organic, whether they are environmentally sustainable, and how the origin of the product relates to its quality, flavor, and cultural characteristics. For example, after having geographical indications, Ha Long squid rolls and Cao Phong oranges have seen a significant increase in consumption and prices have also increased by 15% to 30%.

Dr. Delphin Marie Vivien, a French geographical indication expert who has worked in Vietnam for many years to research and advise several localities on geographical indications for agricultural products, recommends: It is necessary to strengthen collective organizations of producers and processors from the beginning. They have ownership from the beginning of a geographical indication, are the ones who set the criteria for applying for a geographical indication, and then they are the ones who implement and protect their own assets, which are geographical indications.

It can be said that in the current trade competition and food safety assurance, geographical indications are vital for agricultural products in particular and other products in general. To have geographical indications for agricultural products and maintain them is very difficult, but localities, businesses and farmers need to do it. After registering and being granted geographical indications in the Vietnamese market, localities must also consider registering geographical indications in key export markets. Because currently, geographical indications registered in any country or region are only valid in that country or region.

Minh Hanh