What did this project entail?

This project collected and strategically assessed all available empirical evidence on the impact of Geographical Indications (GI) policy. The work focused on answering three key questions:

• How much are consumers willing to pay for GI products and how big is the market?
• Do GIs improve net producer income, especially farmer income?
• Do GIs have positive economic benefits for rural and regional areas?

This material has been subjected to critical review both by empirical economic researchers and policymakers from agriculture, foreign affairs and intellectual property backgrounds. See the Geographical Indications Briefing Paper.

The research was also presented to a wider group of policymaker and academic researchers in Canberra at our Policy Forum on 21 June 2018, and in Berlin at our Academic Workshop on 4 September 2018.

Download our Geographical Indications information flyer (PDF)

Who was involved in this project?

Our research team included Adjunct Associate Professor Hazel Moir, Dr Annmarie Elijah, Dr Áron Török and Dr Wenting Cheng. We also brought in other academics at different stages in the project. These included Professor Filippo Arfini from the University of Parma, Italy and Dr Andrea Zappalaglio from the Max Planck Institute, Munich, Germany.

In addition, we engaged with policymakers from the areas of intellectual property, agriculture and economic development, and with trade negotiators from both Australia and New Zealand.

Presentations

See our Outcomes page for slides, audio and video presentations.

Outreach

We invited a wide range of stakeholders to speak at or attend our events, including academics from different disciplines in Australia and abroad, representatives from Intellectual Property Australia, the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and members of the EU parliament and the European Commission.

Side projects

GI traditions and culture in East Asia

We have also been investigating the use of GIs in East Asia. A number of countries in this region appear to have a terroir concept similar to that in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece. This research has two parts. The first focuses on the history of regional speciality tributes in China and its impact on China’s import of the GI system from the EU. The second (ongoing) part focuses on the third country impact of the European Union Free Trade Agreements (EU FTAs) exemplified by the impact of the Korea-EU FTA on the Australian cheese industry.

Currently available results are presentations by Wenting Cheng on:

• The tradition of regional specialties in China
• Geographical Indications in East Asia

Protected Geographical Indications in Europe

EU GI policy has two major sub-categories. Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs) are available for products strongly linked to their terroir (place). For Protected Geographical Indications (PGIs) the link between product and place is looser and is based strongly on the concept of reputation. This issue is seen as a major policy problem. It was discussed at our Berlin Workshop in September 2018:

• Slides: Linking Product and Place: a Focus on PGIs (Andrea Zappalaglio)
• Audio: Coming soon

Contact

Adjunct Associate Professor Hazel Moir: hazel.moir@anu.edu.au