The Ministry of Commerce is in stage of preparing to register the ‘Kampot-Kep Salt and Flower of Salt’ as national geographical indication product to promote the product in the market.
The working group with support from development partners – French Development Agency (AFD) and World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) are collecting samples of sea water in seven designed origin areas for testing for producing unique and quality salt and flower of salt, according to the ministry’s Intellectual Property Department.
“The ministry’s Department of Intellectual Property in collaboration with national and international experts of WIPO, organised a dissemination workshop and undertook samples of seawater, soil and salt to inspect the quality of Kampot-Kep Salt and Flower of Salt in the 7 production centre,” Mr. Soun Vichea, head of the Secretariat of the National Committee for Intellectual Property and Director of Intellectual Property at the Ministry of Commerce, said.
“The positive results showed those areas can be included in the production area of Kampot-Kep salt and flower of salt,” he added.
He called on stakeholders to actively participate for the success of the registration project in the near future.
The Ministry of Commerce has sought the help of development partners to study the possibility of registering a geographical indication brand or collective brand in the fisheries sector, including “Kampong Som Dried Shrimp, Koh Kong Dried Shrimp and Siem Reap Fish Prahok”, which are Cambodian well-known fisheries products.
Geographical Indication product means name, symbol, and or any other signs which are used for calling or representing a geographical origin and can identify the goods as originating in such geographical origin where the quality, reputation or other characteristics of the goods is essentially attributable to the geographical origin.
Currently, Cambodia has a few products identified as geographical indication or GI products such as Kampot pepper, Kampong Speu palm sugar, Koh Trong pomelo and Mondulkiri wild honey.
Source: Agency Kampuchea Press