Champagne, Roquefort cheese, Scotch whisky,
Parma ham, Feta cheese – these well-known product names are but a few of the
legally protected brands that flourish in developed countries, bringing
employment and revenue to the geographic regions where they are developed.
Fewer products from
developing countries have such familiar brand names, but there are some,
including Basmati rice, Pampas beef, Tequila drinks and Blue Mountain coffee.
Consumers in rich and poor countries alike are buying products with geographical
indications, even when they cost more.
“Changing market trends
offer new opportunities for developing countries to use geographical
indications as a tool to reduce poverty through trade,” said Patricia R.
Francis, ITC’s Executive Director. “This is why ITC is releasing a new guide on
geographical indications.”
How to set up and monitor
geographical indications and how to share costs and benefits are outlined in
ITC’s new 230-page Guide to Geographical Indications - Linking products and their origins.
The guide addresses the topic from the perspective of the business
sector in developing countries, drawing from nearly 200 published reports and
featuring eight case studies.
Almost 90% of just over 10,000 protected
geographical indications come from 30 highly industrialized and developed
countries. Products with geographical indications do more than US$ 50 billion
of business annually.
While Darjeeling tea from India and coffee from
Colombia, Jamaica and Mexico require no introduction to sophisticated
consumers, other products do. Mysore sandal soap from India, shawls from the
fine wool of Mongolian camels and Mezcal drinks from Mexico are examples of
products which use geographical indications to catch the attention of consumers
in global markets.
Geographical indications build a reputation for
products that embody unique expressions of culture where they are grown or
made. By obtaining geographical indications, countries get greater value for
their products, rather than selling them as single commodities. Some consumers
pay a premium because they want to be socially and environmentally responsible,
and derive satisfaction from helping poor communities. There are also growing
numbers of consumers who will pay a premium for quality brands that are tied to
specific geographic areas.
This makes geographical indications more than commercial
and legal instruments. As tools for rural development, they help build
sustainable industry clusters in a geographic area, while preserving local
values such as environmental stewardship, culture and tradition. At the same
time they meet cutting-edge market demands with strict standards for quality,
food safety and traceability. This leads to powerful commercial interests for
parties along the entire value chain.
Trade support institutions – industry
associations, chambers of commerce and government trade promotion bodies – are
vital players in creating geographical indications, and will find this guide
helpful in identifying potential geographical indications, organizing existing
practices and standards, and planning to market, monitor and protect a
geographical indication.
See
www.intracen.org/publications
for
the guide, available free in PDF format. Print copies are for sale for US $70
($28 when ordered from developing countries) and can be ordered at
www.intracen.org/eshop
Click here to download the PDF version