SAKON NAKHON – Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) Director-General Thosapone Dansuputra has urged producers in Sakon Nakhon province to adhere to the standards of Geographical Indication (GI).
According to Thosapone, Sakon Nakhon has the largest number of GI registered products among all provinces in the country. GI identifies a product as being from a particular place and having a quality that is unique to that region.
The DIP Director-General also visited a cattle farm and observed local textile production during his trip. He presented a GI certificate to a state-enterprise community group whose dyeing process meets the GI requirements.
The group will be able to use the GI insignia on their products and create added value. Thosapone said Sakon Nakhon generated 900 million baht in revenue from GI products alone last year.
Local authorities also organized a walking street to raise customers’ awareness of GI goods and to attract more visitors to the province, which is famous for its distinctive ‘Pha Kram’ textile design.
In order to help locally made items in seven other provinces meet GI standards, the DIP Director-General said he would provide assistance to ensure that manufacturers meet such criteria and that they would be ready to register for GI approval later this year.
Local products in 53 provinces in Thailand have already been granted GI labels and the rest are now in the process of applying for certificates.
