Worth the local, worth the world

Aylin Öney Tan

From local value to global value, this was the topic chosen for the recent meeting discussing how to safeguard local products of exceptional significance. We always talk about the taste of our childhood fruits, grandmothers lament about the flavor of vegetables and cooks complain about the blandness and toughness of beans and chickpeas, it is more than often that we long for the good old products that we can no longer find. Most of the time, the reason is that the market is dominated by a few varieties of products only, those that are mass-produced, leaving no chance for special regional products. One way to turn around this situation is to give the recognition they deserve to the products of exceptional quality, even if they remain a small-scale production. Furthermore, global recognition of such regional products emerges as one of the necessary tools for the survival of those products. For this, geographical indication is of critical importance.

The aim of the fourth International Istanbul Geographical Indications Summit held last week on Jan. 17 was to focus on this topic. The summit was hosted by Metro Türkiye and organized in cooperation with TÜRKPATENT, Turkish Patent, Turkish Trademark Office and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB). The theme of this year's meeting was “Yerele Değer-Dünyaya Değer” which can be translated as “Worth the Local - Worth the World,” bringing together a wide participation of local civil society representatives and producers and all relevant stakeholders. The one-day summit program was full of inspiring talks, provided with tasty bites of regional cheeses, sweets, and a vast display of local products all with geographical appellation. Lunch was a display of regional dishes which were listed with the denomination of origin, of course, all prepared with local produce of the particular region.

In Türkiye, geographical indication registration is done by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. Generally, applications are made by local administrations or local chambers of commerce, then evaluated by the institution, and if the necessary conditions are met, the candidate product is registered. Geographical indication is a system that highlights the elements that differentiate a product from other similar products. For example, if a product such as a fruit, vegetable, grain, legume, etc. is endemic to a region, or if it has different characteristics compared to similar products grown elsewhere due to factors such as soil type and specific climatic conditions, it can be registered as a product unique to that region with its different sensory characteristics such as flavor, smell, texture. Candidates who fully meet the registration conditions receive the geographical indication sign as Denomination of Origin (Mahreç in Turkish) in the registrar. The marketing power of a product bearing such an indication increases, so to speak, attracting a certain interest on consumers' part. For the consumer, confidence in the products that have geographical indication registration increases, as it is considered as a sign of guarantee about the quality, origin and controlled production processes of the product. Of course, when it comes to geographically marked products, the fame of a product sometimes proves to be dangerous for its very existence as fake or ersatz products bearing the name can appear on the market, and the consumer may be confused about which is which, it becomes important to know that a product is really the right product.

Quality, Origin, Control

There are several factors that need to be questioned on consumers' part. The quality of the product is the foremost factor to scrutinize, together with the prime question of whether it is truly local or not, that is, its origin. To control the origin, the product must bear the label, but we all know that that might not be possible in reality. This is where it becomes important to establish the right and direct connection between the producer and the consumer. Years ago, in 2012, Metro Türkiye took a pioneering step and started promoting products with geographical indication, by procuring products directly from the producer and putting them on the shelves, thus supporting local producers by providing a purchase guarantee to the producer. This was also an important step towards product sustainability. Metro Türkiye CEO Sinem Türüng emphasizes that the sustainability of local products is also a prerequisite for the sustainability of Turkish cuisine. Naturally, the regional local products are crucial for the regional dishes, the authentic taste can only be achieved by using the regional products.

Geographical indication also gives products an identity and reveals their stories. In this way, the product is recognized, marketed and gradually branded. Türkiye makes a difference with its rich diversity that has the potential for branding. Birol Uluşan, Fruit and Vegetable Category Manager at Metro Türkiye, maybe the person who knows best what grows where in this country, he is the most knowledgeable person in the matter, and according to him, the number of products with registered geographical indications in all European countries is about 3,500 in total, while here alone in Türkiye, there are at least 2,500-3,000 potential products. Diego Canga Fano, director in charge of Geographical Indications in the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development at the European Commission claims “Don’t play in your national league, play in the champions league!,” and adds “You win better when you get a geographical indication from the European Union, 16 percent of all exports consist of products with geographical indications in the EU,” emphasizing the importance of opening up to the EU market.

Bluefish of the Bosphorus, saffron of Safranbolu

There are important developments on the issue Diego Canga Fano drew attention to, as he emphasizes the importance of registration by the EU. In the past months, Ezine Cheese and Ayaş Tomato have received EU registration. In addition, Safranbolu saffron was the first spice to be registered from Türkiye with a protected designation of origin (PDO) by the European Union (EU). The most recent development is the geographical appellation registration of “lüfer,” the famed blue fish of the Bosphorus, by the application of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. We can now say that bluefish is on its way to the EU because steps have been taken for the EU registration of the Bosphorus bluefish. Türüng reminded their meticulous attitude towards fish and seafood products and stated that they never buy undersized baby forms of bluefish, namely “çinekop” and “sarıkanat” in Turkish, and that they only buy bluefish at the stage when it reaches reproductive maturity, that is, when it reaches 24 centimeters in length. On the road from the local to the global, the local product must first be protected in its place of origin, then it can have access to the world and receive its true value in global markets. A decade ago, Taşköprü garlic and Finike oranges were saved by giving a helping hand to local farmers, and now they receive their rightful recognition and value. Hopefully, the same model can be applied to all the EU-approved 18 products from Türkiye, proving the title “Worth the local, Worth the world” is indeed worth discussing and adopting as a motto!