June 12, 2024
According to EuroSAT data for the year 2021, the market value of Products with Geographical Indication is 200 billion € worldwide, and 70 billion € in Europe. The most important markets for Products with Geographical Indication are Singapore and the USA. Given their significantly high market share in the European Union, Turkish Products with Geographical Indication needs to take their deserved place in this market too. To this end, it is expected to achieve the expected economic results through an efficient marketing chain when Geographical Indications are duly protected in Turkey.
You may kindly find below some examples worldwide (Source: FAO, 2018):
In terms of Sales Price:
- Tete de Moire Cheese (Switzerland): an increase of 4% achieved in domestic market, and an increase of 57% achieved in foreign market.
- Penja Black Pepper (Cameroon): An increase of 120% achieved.
- Taliouine Saffron (Morocco): An increase of 500% achieved.
In terms of Manufacturing Quantity and Number of Manufacturers:
- Kona Coffee (America): 250% increase achieved in manufacturing quantity (between the years 1995 and 2015); 36% increase in the number of manufacturers (between the years 1991 and 2012).
- Tete de Moine Cheese (Switzerland): 300% increase achieved in manufacturing quantity (between the years 1986-2014).
Thanks to their economic impacts, Products with Geographical Indication create value, invigorate employment and manufacture, protect rural population and avoid migration to urban areas and protect knowledge and cultural values.
However, achieving all these positive impacts requires prevention of counterfeit products in the market and thereby creating a safe environment where consumers can reach certified products through an efficient control mechanism. There are specific measures legislated by the European Commission to this end.
First one of such measures is to prevent counterfeiting of products in digital platforms and to prevent misleading domain names or trademarks (see REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on Geographical Indication Protection for Craft and Industrial Products and Amending Regulations, dated April 13, 2022).
On the other hand, in today’s globalizing and digitalizing world, it is becoming more and more difficult to prevent counterfeits especially in food sector. Given that the majority of Products with Geographical Indication are agricultural products or food products, it is becoming more important for consumers to reach reliable information about the products, manufacturers and cultural history thereof. In this sense, it has become a significant requirement to benefit from the developing technology in this field too.
