Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 2016 - 2017

Clearing the Hurdles

GIs are used to identify a good as originating in a delineated territory or region where a noted quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin and/or the human or natural environmental factors there.

Geographical Indications as a tool

the coffee grown by producers in the region, by establishing quality standards based on market requirements, and to gain an extra premiumprice for their product on themarket. The strategy was based on exploiting the unique flavour of the coffee beans produced in the delineated region, the environmental conditions in the mountain ranges where the coffee is produced as well as local production practices. To create value from OLPs, marketing and promotional strategies are fundamentally grounded on the terroir as well as collective action. The collective action is based on the GI being owned collectively by producers within the delineated area who meet the product specification as defined within the application

of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin and/or the human or natural environmental factors there. Such indications provide a form of IPRs protection which is based on the fundamental premise that GIs are a unique and distinct category of signs which should be accorded special treatment, due to the indelible link between regional products and specific characteristics of their geographical origin and/ or the unique processes which impart a distinctive and unique quality to the product. As an example, the GI ‘Pico Duarte Coffee’ is used for coffee produced in the Jarabacoa coffee producing region in the northern slopes of the Cordillera Central mountain chain in the Dominican Republic. The Cluster de Café de Jarabacoa sought to obtain the GI to improve the quality and reputation of

The challenge for regional agri-food producers is that they are more accustomed to using trademarks/service marks, certification marks and, to a lesser extent, collective marks as product promotional tools and to build brand presence in their chosen markets. However, not much attention has been placed on using GIs to effect the same. Indeed, the regional interest in GIs has come about in recent times as a result of specific obligations under the CARIFORUM- EU EPA. GIs are used to identify a good as originating in a delineated territory or region where a noted quality, reputation or other characteristic

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