Georgian products to be granted geographical indicators

The National Intellectual Property Centre Sakpatenti and the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia have signed an agreement that will support the development of protected geographical indicators for Georgian products.

"In order for Georgian products to have a higher quality and to be better positioned in EU markets, it is very important to implement a project of protected geographical indications for Georgian products,” said head of Sakpatenti Nikoloz Goglidze after he signed the agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture.

Currently more than 30 types of products produced in Georgia have applied for geographical indications. The majority of these types of products were exported abroad.

Within the European Neighborhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD), four new geographical indications specifications have been prepared for registration. These geographical indications were prepared for potatoes from Akhalkalaki, a town in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe-Javakheti; marinade from Kutaisi, Georgia’s second largest city in the western part of the country; tea from Tkibuli in west-central Georgia and honey from Machakhela in the Adjara region. 

ENPARD is a policy initiative which recognises the importance of agriculture in terms of food security, sustainable production and rural employment.

The duration of the program is five years (January 2012 – January 2016) and during this time it will focus on setting up information and consultation centres for farmers in rural districts, help the Government adopt laws promoting cooperation among farmers and providing rural development grants to support farmers to gain economies of scale.

The program aimed to enhance technical assistance that will strengthen the Ministry of Agriculture's ability to carry out the reforms foreseen in agricultural sector for the period of 2014 to 2020, which the Georgian Government adopted in May 2012.

ENPARD for Georgia is worth of €52 million (117 million GEL).