GI label granted for two products
In a move to upgrade community products, the government has granted geographical indication (GI) registrations to Tak Bai dried salted fish from Narathiwat and Pone Yang Kum beef from Sakon Nakhon.
Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said GI registration will upgrade the two products to premium status, boosting consumer confidence that the products are genuine.
A GI is a distinctive label used to identify a product as coming from the territory of a country, region or locality, particularly when its quality, reputation or other characteristics are linked to its place of origin.
GI certification reflects the unique characteristics and quality of the product, which boosts their market value in developed countries.
The internationally recognised GI system also protects a product by certifying that its characteristics cannot be replicated elsewhere.
Its aim is to keep competitors from using the area’s name or misleading the public about a product’s origin.
Champagne, named after the region in France where sparkling wine is made, is the most famous example of a GI-protected product.
Currently, 71 products, including Tak Bai dried salted fish and Pone Yang Kum beef, have obtained GI registration from the Intellectual Property Department.
In a move to add value to indigenous products, the government vows to push for its GI registration scheme to cover every province by 2017.
Mr Apiradi said earlier that the government aims for the One Province, One GI scheme to boost related-product value by 30%.
At the global level, three Thai products — Hom Mali, the fragrant rice grown in Surin, Maha Sarakham, Buri Ram, Si Sa Ket, Roi Et and Yasothon provinces, plus Doi Chang and Doi Tung, two wellknown coffee varieties made from beans cultivated in the hills of Chiang Rai — won GI certification from the European Union.
Hom Mali rice was granted GI status in March 2013, while the two coffee varieties received recognition in July last year.
Thailand has been stepping up efforts to apply for GI registration in the EU for Sangyod, a strain of rice from Phatthalung province, and Isan silk.
Lamphun Thai Silk was awarded GI certification from Indonesia in February. The silk is also pending GI certification in India.
This year Thailand, through the Intellectual Property Department, plans to seek GI registration in China for Hom Mali rice, Siam pomelo from the Pak Phanang district of Nakhon Si Thammarat, and sweet tamarind from Phetchabun.