One single Portuguese fruit, Pera Rocha (the Rocha pear), was included among some 200 products that are covered by the agreement between China and the EU on the protection of geographical indications (GI).
Of course, the GI label applies to products with specific quality, reputation or other characteristics resulting from their geographical origin. When the China-EU GI agreement entered into force on March 1, 2021, the Portuguese producers of Pera Rocha intended to be able to access and conquer the Chinese market.
According to Domingos dos Santos, president of the National Association of Pera Rocha Producers (ANP), the GI agreement is considered another step towards the granting of “health authorization to be able to export Pera Rocha from Portugal to China.”
“It is important to preserve the productive brands and designations of origin and geographical indications, because these labels are granted to high-quality products, produced in a specific way. These are always important, so that we are not trivializing production,” he told macaubusiness.com.
Pera Rocha was recognized in 2003 as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), an EU seal that certifies the quality and tradition of food and agricultural products, guaranteeing their origin and certified production techniques.
Photo source: En.wikipedia.org
