On December 11, the Yunnan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced that the province has promoted the protection and development of geographical indication (GI) agricultural products under its highland characteristic modern agriculture initiative. Currently, 28 GI agricultural products have helped 480,000 farmers increase their income by 2.47 billion yuan, effectively driving high-quality agricultural development in the region.
Geographical indications serve as a crucial form of intellectual property protection, distinguishing Yunnan's green and high-quality agricultural products in the market. They also form the foundation for building regional public brands, corporate brands, and product branding strategies. In recent years, Yunnan has focused on five key areas—resource surveys, brand promotion, and others—to enhance the protection and development of GI agricultural products.
For resource surveys, the province allocated 3.3 million yuan in special funds to catalog unique agricultural products in industries such as grains, tea, flowers, fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee, medicinal herbs, and livestock. A directory of 357 distinctive products was established to assess the current status of GI resources and strengthen related initiatives.
Under the GI project, Yunnan secured 123.81 million yuan in agricultural production development funds from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to implement the "Geographical Indication Agricultural Product Protection Project." The program prioritized 28 GI products, including Zhaotong apples and Pu'er coffee, known for their distinctiveness, large-scale production, growth potential, and market recognition. The project has contributed to a per capita income increase of 5,100 yuan for participating farmers.
Additionally, Yunnan has actively participated in exhibitions such as the "China International Agricultural Trade Fair Geographical Indication Exhibition," "China Green Food Expo," and "China Organic Food Expo." The province established a dedicated Yunnan section at the National Agricultural Exhibition Hall's GI product display center, featuring 18 products from 15 enterprises across 10 prefectures. Both offline and online marketing efforts have expanded brand influence and market recognition.
Furthermore, Yunnan requires agricultural products to obtain GI certification, protected GI status, or GI trademarks before applying for the "Green Yunnan Products" regional public brand. Currently, the province has 64 regional public brands, including Chenggong Baozhu pears and Shilin passionfruit. Annual promotional events in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taiyuan, and Qingdao further support the high-quality development of GI agricultural products.
A representative from the Yunnan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs stated that future efforts will focus on advancing the "1+10+3" key industries of highland characteristic agriculture, improving standardized production capabilities across the entire supply chain, and cultivating more regional public brands with historical significance and market potential.
Comments