A farmer harvests dragon fruit in the coastal central province of Binh Thuan (Photo: VNA) PGI status identifies an agricultural product, raw or processed, of which thequality, reputation or other characteristics are linked to its geographicalorigin. The PGI applies to agricultural, agro-food and wine products.
The application for PGI status in Japan for Binh Thuan province’s dragon fruithas undergone two appraisals and recently finished receiving third-partycomments on September 21.
Japan will soon make an official decision after an expert council meeting held inlate September, Dinh Huu Phi, head of the National Office of IntellectualProperty under the Ministry of Science and Technology, was quoted as saying bythe Khoa hoc & Phat trien (Science & Development) online magazine.
If the application was approved, Binh Thuan province’s dragon fruit would bethe second fruit from Vietnam to receive PGI status in Japan, he said.
Luc Ngan lychees became the first in March.
Phi said the approval of a PGI for Binh Thuan's dragon fruit had a greatsignificance for the export of the dragon fruit, both to Japan and widermarkets.
Nguyen Phuong Thuy, a lecturer in Oriental Studies at the University of SocialSciences and Humanities, said the PGI in Japan meant that the farm produce wasgiven trademark protection.
Farm produce receiving the PGI often had a higher selling price and werepopular amongst local people, she said. This is because consumers know that thefarm produce is guaranteed by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry andFisheries.
“So, they will trust on the quality of the farm produce and be more willing tobuy the farm produce,” she said.
Being granted a PGI in a market like Japan would contribute to improving thereputation of Binh Thuan province’s dragon fruit and create favourableconditions for the dragon fruit to enter other foreign markets, she said.
More work to do
Phi said getting the PGI was only the first step.
It is important that we maintain the quality of the dragon fruit to meet theJapanese market's demand, he said.
For example, after Luc Ngan lychee got the PGI in Japan, the Vietnameseexporter was required to maintain the quality of the lychee.
The Japanese side also required the Vietnamese exporter to send a periodicreport on the quality of the lychee, he said.
Therefore, a set of regulations on management and control of the origin of thefarm produce is required to ensure the quality of produce, once awarded thePGI, he added.
Data from the National Office of Intellectual Property show that, as ofDecember 31, 2020, Vietnam had received 101 PGIs for its farm produce,including six in foreign countries.
The number of Vietnamese PGI's has increased rapidly; in 2007 there were only10; 91 were awarded over the following 14 years.
Binh Thuan province is one of the provinces that produce the most dragon fruitin Vietnam.
The province annually harvests nearly 700,000 tonnes of dragon fruit, from33,482 hectares. The land used in growing dragon fruit has grown by nearly 24percent, while dragon fruit yield increased by nearly 35 percent between 2016and 2020.
Currently, the consumption of dragon fruit by the domestic market only accountsfor about 15 percent of the total yield; 85 percent of dragon fruit productionis for export.
There are five localities in the province growing dragon fruit that is appliedfor the PGI in Japan, including Ham Tan district, Ham Thuan Nam district, HamThuan Bac district, Bac Binh district and Phan Thiet city./.
VNA
