Italy to protect Italian PDO and PGI products in China

Beijing - Italy intends to protect its quality-label products - Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) in China. The Italian Embassy in Beijing organised an event titled "The extraordinary Italian taste: promotion and protection of GIs in China", on the occasion of the international consumer's day. The event was attended by the director of the Chinese office of the World Intellectual Property Organization , Cheng Hongbing, members of the National Administration for Chinese Industry and Trade (SAIC) and of the General Administration for Quality Control and the Supervision of Quarantine in China (AQSIQ).

The event was also attended by the Italian Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Andrea Olivero. The Emilia Romagna Councillor for Agriculture, Simona Caselli, sent a video message. The initiative was organised by the Embassy, in cooperation with ICE, the Italian Trade Agency, the Italian Chamber of Commerce in China, with the sponsorship of the European Union delegation in Beijing. In his opening address, the Italian Ambassador in Beijing, Ettore Sequi, underlined the economic importance of the geographical indication for Italian products. "Protecting, preserving and promoting: these are the three Ps regulating our action in China to protect Italy's wine and food products," said Ambassador Sequi.

"Geographical indication norms are a major breakthrough achieved by Italy and the European Union, and can definitely become a topical issue for the Peoples' Republic of China and its consumers who are very cautious in selecting genuine and high quality products," said Olivero in his video message. To date Italy accounts for 811 GI products in the food and wine sector, where it holds 27 percent of all the world's geographical indications, amounting to almost 14 billion euros, involving approx 150,000 enterprises.
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