Hanoi (VNS/VNA) –The Industry and Trade (MoIT), the Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) andthe Science and Technology (MoST) have signed a coordination agreement onconstruction and management of geographical indication (GI).

The coordination is important as it lays the foundations for the threeministries to coordinate and improve State management, enhance efficiency inGI, as well as increase value of protected products and competitiveness ofVietnamese products in the world market, leaders of the three ministries said.

According to Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Cong Tac, endingJuly 2018, Vietnam has a total of 68 GI-registered products, of which 62 arenational and six are foreign GI products. GI-registered products have expandedfrom fresh foods such as fruits, seafood, rice, to processed products such asfish sauce, shrimp sauce and handicraft merchandise such as Hue conical hats,Nga Son sedge mat and Cao Bang tortoise-shell bamboo.

GI is a name or symbol used on products which have a specific geographicallocation or origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are related tothat origin.

GI is increasingly proving its importance in agricultural and ruraldevelopment, contributing to the preservation of traditional cultural values,development of production activities and trade, as well as improving the addedvalue of Vietnamese agricultural products, Tac said.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam alsoemphasised the importance of GI protection, saying GI labelling will benefitconsumers as the products will be ensured in terms of origin, quality andtrust.

At present, producers, including farmers and cooperatives, are aware of thenecessity of GI registration as they understand that GI-registered productswill have much higher value, Nam said.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said many localities,enterprises and trade associations do not have full awareness of importance oftrademark, GI registration and intellectual property rights (IP).

He recalled the loss of Buon Ma Thuot coffee in China’s market due to no GIregistration.

In the past, the State and local authorities have developed and put intopractice programmes and solutions to support GI registration such as supportprogrammes for IP development and brand development for local specialties.

In the future, the three ministries will coordinate to develop a legalframework for GI registration and protection, implement GI law and policy, andcollaborate to detect, prevent and handle GI infringements. An advisory councilwill be established to advise ministers on building and managing GI law.

The coordination between the three ministries will promote the expertise, humanand financial resources of each ministry and at the same time create synergy inthe law construction and management, the ministries said.-VNS/VNA