Chinese geographical indication products will be easier to enter Europe

The Council of the European Union authorized the formal signing of the China-EU Geographical Indications Agreement, which was the first significant bilateral trade agreement signed between the EU and China.

It will ensure that 100 geographical indication agricultural products from the EU and China are protected in each other's markets. Four years after the agreement enters into force, the scope of the agreement will be expanded to cover an additional 175 geographical indication names from both parties. The agreement also includes a mechanism for adding more geographical indication products afterwards.

Geographical indications (Geographical Indication, referred to as "GI") are important signs that indicate the origin of a product and are a type of intellectual property. According to the regulations of the relevant Chinese government agencies, it is clear that a geographical indication product refers to "produced in a specific area, and its quality, reputation or other characteristics essentially depend on the natural and human factors of the place of production, and it is named after review and approval by geographical names. The product". China and the European Union currently each have their own geographical indication products. According to data released by the State Intellectual Property Office, as of the end of June 2020, China had approved a total of 2,385 geographical indication products, approved 8,811 enterprises using special signs, and registered a total of 5,682 geographical indication trademarks. As of the end of March 2020, the total number of protected names in the EU is 3322. According to a recent study released by the European Commission, the total sales of agricultural food and beverage products that are protected by EU geographical indication names amounted to 74.76 billion euros, of which more than one-fifth came from exports.

In recent years, the scale of China-EU agriculture and agricultural trade has expanded year by year. The President of the European Commission von der Lein said that the China-EU Geographical Indications Agreement will well protect agricultural producers and consumers between China and the EU. The agreement sets high-level protection rules for geographical indication products, and includes two batches of 275 landmark products from each side in the appendix in stages. At this stage, it mainly protects 100 EU geographical indications on the Chinese market and 100 Chinese geographical indications on the EU market from imitation and usurpation, effectively preventing counterfeit geographical indication products, and Chinese and European consumers can enjoy genuine and high-quality agricultural products from each other.

According to the agreement, relevant Chinese products have the right to use the EU's official certification mark, which is conducive to obtaining the recognition of EU consumers and will further promote the export of relevant Chinese products to the EU. China’s current 100 geographical indication products come from 27 provinces and cities across the country, and they are all well-known agricultural products to Chinese consumers, including Anxi Tieguanyin, Wuchang Rice, Gannan Navel Orange, Pixian Douban, Shanxi Old Vinegar, Yantai Wine, Korla Pear , Kweichow Moutai (1672.000, 0.00, 0.00%) wine, Baise mango, Sichuan kimchi, etc. The geographical indications protected by the EU in China mainly include Portuguese port wine, French Bordeaux wine, German Munich beer, Spanish Monchego cheese, Italian prosciutto and cheese.

In addition to being a guarantee of high quality, geographical indications have also proven to be an effective marketing tool, helping to ensure that producers receive higher and more stable income. According to a study commissioned by the European Union in 2013, the average selling price of GI products is more than twice that of similar non-GI products. Among them, the premium rate for wine is 2.85, the premium rate for spirits is 2.52, and the premium rate for agricultural products and food is 1.5.

According to the observation of a reporter from the Global Times, the brands and origins of the so-called Chinese agricultural products currently sold in the European market are still rather chaotic. For example, the fans that reporters like to buy, many of them are produced in Vietnam, Thailand, and even the Netherlands, and the quality of the products is very different, but without exception, the packaging of all products says "Chinese Longkou fans". Although Longkou vermicelli is not on the list of the first batch of 100 agricultural products, it will be included in the second batch of 175 products, thus being protected by the China-EU Geographical Indications Agreement. The fake "Longkou fans" will no longer exist, and fans from non-specific origins can only be marked as fans. The China-EU Geographical Indications Agreement allows European consumers to further understand the true quality of Chinese products.

It can be said that after the formal implementation of this agreement, it will bring huge development opportunities for China's well-known agricultural products, but it is also required that these products must regard quality as the most important point, because they will become more of Chinese agricultural products entering the European market. Stepping stone. In addition, the conclusion of the China-EU Geographical Indications Agreement will further strengthen the protection of landmark products with Chinese characteristics. At the same time, the higher-level needs of the new market will reversely promote the transformation and upgrading of China's agricultural product-related industrial chain as soon as possible.

On the other hand, China is a potential high-growth market for European food and beverages. The agreement will enable Chinese consumers to have a deeper understanding of Europe’s well-known agricultural products and enjoy European products with good value for money. Take olive oil as an example. The EU has 127 types of extra virgin olive oils with protected geographical indications from seven countries, and there are thousands of European olive oil brands exported to the Chinese market every year. Taking wine as an example, Chinese consumers generally believe that red wine from France is a high-quality and high-priced product. In Europe, a bottle of ordinary red wine for two or three euros can be sold for 100-200 yuan in the Chinese market. In the future, if Chinese consumers want to buy genuine high-quality European products, they can look for European products with geographical protection signs to avoid wasting money.