Koh Kong provincial deputy governor Chheng Sovanda (centre), commerce ministry director-general for intellectual property rights Suon Vichea (second right) and the WIPO’s Peter Damary handle Koh Kong Scylla crabs. PHOTO SUPPLIED
“Koh Kong Scylla crabs” are crawling along the domestic geographical indication (GI) registration process, with Koh Kong authorities all too eager to share the delectable treat and other choice produce items offered by the coastal province, in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce.
The Koh Kong Provincial Administration on February 8 held a consultative workshop on the procedures, benefits and other matters concerning the domestic GI registration of the economically important mud crabs, which comprise the four species of the Scylla genus.
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The workshop was presided over by Koh Kong provincial deputy governor Chheng Sovanda as well as ministry adviser and director-general for intellectual property rights Suon Vichea, with Peter Damary, an expert at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in attendance.
A GI tag is an intellectual property (IP) tool that protect products originating or otherwise strongly linked to a specific geographical region, and that possess particular qualities, reputations or other characteristics that are fundamentally attributable to their territory of origin. GI products are generally accompanied by a sign to distinguish them from unauthorised analogues.
Located in the Kingdom’s coastal region, Koh Kong is endowed with hills, highlands, plains and beaches, and produces fisheries products such as crab, squid, sea fish, and mussels, as well as shrimp in fresh, dried and paste form, Sovanda told the event, listing some of the more profitable produce items as peppercorn, durian, rambutan, bananas and honey.
“The province will be very proud of any local items with the GI tag – these will be well-known and successful shortly thereafter,” he stressed.
The protected status would allow producers to expand their footprint globally, and promote a surge in the value of their goods. Four domestic products are expected to be registered as GIs at the commerce ministry in the near future.
Along with the crabs, these are “Kampot-Kep salt”, “Kampot-Kep fish sauce” and “Takeo crayfish”, as mentioned in a report issued in conjunction with the commerce ministry’s annual meeting on January 30-31.
Under the technical assistance of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), commerce ministry officials have prepared the Articles of Association as well as the Book of Specifications for “Kampot-Kep salt”, the report said.
And working with the EU’s Arise Plus Intellectual Property Rights programme, they have organised four consultative workshops to date on “Kampot-Kep fish sauce” and “Takeo crayfish”, it said, adding that WIPO is also lending a hand in the registration process for the Koh Kong Scylla crabs.
