Geographical indication product applications cannot just wait for people to come to the door

Recently, a media reporter learned from the Zhongshan Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision that Shenwan pineapple is planned to apply for national geographical indication product protection, and preliminary application preparations are currently underway. If the product passes approval, it will become the city's third national geographical indication protected product. Currently Guangdong Province already has 81 geographical indication protected products, but Zhongshan has only 2: Zhongshan crispy grass carp and Huangpu preserved meat. A relevant person in charge disclosed that, apart from Shenwan pineapple, Zhongshan currently has no other products coming to the quality supervision department to apply for this certification. In addition, Zhongshan currently has 33 provincial-level famous-brand agricultural products, 25 pollution-free agricultural products, and 16 green foods.

What business is most profitable? Of course, monopoly products. Geographical indication products are a valuable local resource, gaining a monopolistic market position based on a special protection system. Because they have the comparative advantage of “having what others do not, and being special where others have it,” their competitiveness and added value are unmatched by ordinary agricultural products. With the adjustment of the agricultural industrial structure, the production scale of cash crops and livestock and poultry continues to expand, new varieties keep increasing, and there are many opportunities for market selection. Under such circumstances, agricultural products without visibility find it very difficult to win market favor, and a unique brand is even more of a passport to dominating the market. At the same time, with the widespread application of science and technology in agriculture, agricultural product varieties are constantly being optimized, transforming agricultural products from low quality to high quality. If the relevant departments only make an issue of applications, or even wait for agricultural products to come to them for application, then difficulties in selling are unavoidable.

For thousands of years, the special geographical environment and climatic conditions have created the unique qualities of some Zhongshan agricultural products, and coupled with the cultural accumulation of several generations, they have nurtured numerous geographical indication resources with distinctive characteristics, excellent quality, and rich culture. The dual-purpose Zhongshan Ma duck, the Dahuabai fatty pig with thick fat and rich intestines, the Shiqi squab with a large body, tender meat, and especially thick breast meat, the Xiaolan crispy longan with large fruit, thick flesh, and a pig-fat-like texture, and the Zhongshan large banana known as “Guoshanxiang” have long enjoyed great reputations in domestic and foreign markets. However, because brand exploration has not been broad enough, they have never broken out of the situation of scale efficiency. Only by intensifying efforts to build geographical indication products and highlighting historical and cultural connotations and traditional craftsmanship can more widely acclaimed “hard signboards” with a full Zhongshan flavor emerge.

At a time when food safety is drawing more public attention, high-quality agricultural products are increasingly welcomed by consumers. In addition to actively assisting with geographical indication product applications, government departments should also work harder on how to explore, protect, and promote them, expanding the total number of Zhongshan geographical indication products through a development model of developing a batch, cultivating a batch, and applying for a batch. First, conduct a general survey and application groundwork for geographical indication product resources, including elements such as planting techniques, history and culture, production craftsmanship, and visibility, and establish resource files for products that meet application conditions. Second, establish scientific standards and specifications so that planting and breeding conditions, technical craftsmanship, production management, and product quality all have specific reference systems, truly becoming high-quality pollution-free agricultural products. Third, strengthen supervision and implement protection measures, and establish a management mechanism of government supervision, industry oversight, and enterprise self-discipline. Organize special inspections of geographical indication products, severely crack down on acts of counterfeiting geographical indication products, and effectively protect the lawful rights and interests of places of origin.

To make Zhongshan's famous, high-quality agricultural products such as geographical indication products widely known, more approaches are possible: First, through news publicity in national-level media, make Zhongshan's famous, high-quality agricultural products widely known across the country. Through programs such as Xunwei Meishi, Zoubian Zhongguo, Zhifu Jing, and Shengcai Youdao, publicize them on CCTV Finance Channel, International Channel, and Agriculture Channel. Second, invite more media from other places to conduct in-depth interviews and reports on Zhongshan's famous, high-quality agricultural products. Third, in addition to holding relevant exhibitions and festival activities, attract tourists and travel agencies to participate in food tastings, expanding influence through person-to-person transmission. Fourth, develop contract agriculture through “agricultural-supermarket linkage.” Referring to the “company + farmers” approach, integrate scattered growers and breeders, unify branding and packaging, and sell centrally to major cities, thereby effectively solving the sales problem.