Due to its role in boosting rural revitalization, geographical indication was a key issue discussed at this year's National People's Congress, which concluded last week.
Zhang Li, an NPC deputy and deputy head of the Anhui provincial institute of veterinary drug and feed control, said that industrialization is key to a booming rural economy. Zhang suggested integrating GI products into the development of rural industries as part of efforts to lift farmers out of poverty and boost their income.
At Huanggang town in Funan county of Anhui province, its signature craft of willow weaving has become crucial to helping residents escape poverty.
In 2011, the craft was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage item and has been protected as a GI trademark since.
By the end of 2017, 240 companies in the county were engaged in the willow weaving industry. It has created 120,000 jobs and helped more than 10,000 people through poverty alleviation, local media reported.
By 2019, Anhui had a total of 78 types of GI-marked products. Their total sales achieved 41.46 billion yuan in 2019.
Of these, 47 types of GI-marked products are related to poverty alleviation, benefiting 260,800 people. It has helped the poor increase their annual per capita income by 2,559 yuan, according to Cheng Yin, deputy head of the Anhui Administration for Market Regulation.
Making full use of GI trademarks to help poverty alleviation and rural revitalization has become a general consensus among market watchdogs, Cheng said.
Source: China Daily
