Govt urged to register reputed goods as GI products
UNB
Speakers at a seminar yesterday sought quick and effective steps to register and protect the products having good reputation like Jamdani, Hilsa, Lalon music and other products as Geographical Indication (GI) goods as it will boost product prices and export apart from attracting foreign investment, reports UNB.
They observed that consumers are willing to pay higher prices for GI goods due to their quality, and Bangladesh must take that advantage.
Geographical Indication identifies a good as originating in a particular region, where a specific characteristic and quality of the good is attributable to its place of origin. Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) jointly arranged the seminar titled Geographical Indication of Goods: Significance Implementation Challenges and Needed Initiatives for Bangladesh at the DCCI auditorium.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed spoke on the occasion as the chief guest, while DCCI President Hossain Khaled presided over it.
Mohammad Abu Yusuf and Sheikh Ruksana Burhan jointly presented the keynote paper at the seminar.
Speaking on the occasion, Tofail Ahmed said, Its very essential to register our products as GI goods. Well have to go for branding as itll help boost the product prices at the global market with increased export volume.
He said Bangladesh is moving ahead and in some indicators Bangladesh is well ahead of India and Pakistan.
The commerce minister hoped that the government would be able to take right steps in consultation with stakeholders to register and protect Bangladeshi goods as GI goods.
Apparently indicating at possible barriers, he also mentioned that many countries are not happy enough to see Bangladeshs growth in various areas. Well have to take our country forward. Were a brave nation.
The commerce minister said the government has already implemented one district one product (ODOP), to develop local product base.
He urged the DCCI president for taking initiatives to identify traditional products, especially of Dhaka district.
Tofail also said Bangladesh failed to earn $4 billion more through its export earnings last year due to devaluation of Euro in recent past.
Hossain Khaled said if they want to register traditional products under GI they have to ensure coordination among the authorities concerned.
He urged the government to expedite its project, titled One District One Product, and suggested that all district Chambers may contribute a lot more towards identifying more traditional and historic products.
CEO of BFTI Ali Ahmed said in line with the GI registration process they have to focus on product quality and packaging.
In India, he said, they have 400 registered products. So we have to take initiatives for identifying our products to register under GI.
The paper presenters said the government needs to finalise GI rules -- prescribed forms, procedure and feesquickly to take forward the task. Bangladesh passed the GI of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act in 2013.
They said implementation of GI law would help Bangladeshi products get improved market access, premium prices and establish Bangladesh brand abroad.
Both the presenters said Hilsa of the Padma, litchi of Dinajpur, silk of Rajshahi, katan saree of Mirpur, curd of Bogra, honey of the Sudarbans have traditional values.
They called upon the sector specific associations and government to take initiatives to register these items under the GI.
The speakers suggested starting work with Jamdani, already registered by India. Unesco has also recently recognised Jamdani as a Bangladeshi intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Deputy Registrar of DPDT Iliyas Hossain Bhuiyan, Associate Prof of Dept of Law of University of Dhaka Dr Towhidul Islam, Research Associate of CPD Umme Shefa Rezbana, DCCI Directors--AKD Khair Mohammad Khan, Muktar Hossain Chowdhury, former Vice President Kh Shahidul Islam, Convenor Nurul Haque, former commerce secretary Sohel Ahmed Chowdhury spoke in the open discussion session.
