A catalog of agricultural product brands will be established, with influential brands released on a regular basis

According to a Xinhua News Agency report, the Ministry of Agriculture announced yesterday that, in order to promote the development of brand agriculture, China will explore the establishment of a brand catalog system for agricultural products, incorporating the most influential and most valuable brands into the national brand catalog, with regular release and dynamic management.

Zhang Hecheng, director of the Market and Economic Information Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, said at the press conference that branding has become a core hallmark of agricultural modernization, and accelerating the development of agricultural brands has become an urgent task for transforming the mode of agricultural development and accelerating modern agriculture. “Brands are of great significance to consumers of agricultural products. For example, Thai rice, Dutch tulips, Zimbabwean flue-cured tobacco and so on are brand names familiar to consumers and the crystallization of reputation. Once a brand is established in people's minds, it can become a symbol of quality and safety.” Zhang Hecheng said.

In recent years, the number of registered trademarks for agricultural products in China grew from 600,000 in 2008 to 1,251,500 in 2012, but the influence of most brands remains limited to local areas, and there is a lack of internationally competitive brands.