Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday said Bangladesh has to include its unique products into the Geographical Indication (GI) of Goods in order to brand the country and bring premium prices for producers.
The minister made the call at a seminar on “Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 2013: Significance of GI, Implementation Challenges and Needed Initiatives,” held in DCCI auditorium in the city.
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) jointly organised the programme.
The event aimed to provide a basic idea about the GI and to identify the economic rationale of having GI registration, besides showing prospect of Bangladeshi GI products.
Geographical Indication (GI) identifies a good as originating in a particular region, where a specific characteristic and quality of the goods is essentially attributable to its place of origin.
Bangladesh has some unique products like Jamdani, Buffalo curd of Bhola, Hilsa of Padma and Mango of Chapai.
“We have register those for GI to protect ownership,” said Tofail.
It is high time concentration should be given to brand Bangladesh through GI products in line with its world-wide identity by ready-made garments, he said.
The commerce minister urged DCCI president for taking initiative to identify traditional products especially of Dhaka District.
“GI protects right holders from the acts of reinforcement or unfair competition. National GI regime and its enforcement will help Bangladesh protect the country’s ownership on its unique products under treaties,” said Mohammad Abu Yusuf, former senior fellow of BFTI.
Bangladeshi GI will work as a brand for Bangladesh and help build consumers’ confidence and improve market access with premium price, said Yusuf.
