The agriculture sector takes less than 1% of Shanghai’s economy; however it is very important for the development of Shanghai to properly protect and utilize agricultural natural resources. Shanghai AIC actively exercised its duties, instructed and supported the farmers, cooperatives, agricultural enterprises to make full use of current 11 GI marks, in order to improve competitiveness of agricultural products, increase agricultural incomes and strongly promote economic development in local rural areas.
I. Motivating the government to perform duties and to increase the support to GI marks
In 2006, Shanghai AIC held a seminar and an agricultural marks exhibition on agricultural marks and new rural constructions. In 2007, it organized an experience exchanging meeting on agricultural products trademarks and actively promoted the development of agricultural products trademarks and GI marks. In 2011, it issued Shanghai medium and long term plan for implementing trademark strategy, and clearly proposed “to encourage and instruct GI products to register collective marks and certification marks and to promote a wide use of GI marks”. The affiliated district (county) governments have also issued relative policy to give encouragements and supports. For example, Chongming County Government issued opinions to foster characteristic agricultural products’ development and to reward the national GI certification marks. Jiading District Government formulated opinions to promote implementing agricultural products trademarks strategy in Jiading District and encourage the registrations and utilizations of GI marks and agricultural products trademarks.
II. Fully playing enterprises’ (farmers’) principle roles to constantly increase the abilities to utilize GI marks
1. To reply on GI marks and gradually improve the level of agricultural industrialization. Depending on industrial operation mode “leading enterprises (professional associations or cooperatives) + GI marks + farms”, through the establishment of market interest community, unified decentralized farmers lacking of competitiveness advantages to realize the integration of production, marketing and sales, to promote the industrialized and scaled development of agriculture. For example, “Chongming Yellow Melon”, with the organization of professional cooperatives, has been sold from fairs to super markets, and even to the Northeast China.
2. To promote products’ standards constructions, and to foster GI products’ images. For example, “Nanhui Honey Peach”, through the development of production specifications, products’ quality management manuals and GI mark utilization regulations, practically regulated production technologies, seriously performed production standards, voluntarily enhanced GI marks’ utilization management and basically realized a unified brand image, production management, quality standard, packaging and marketing and technological assistance.
3. To actively play GI products’ advantages in pursuit of high quality strategy. It took the principle of “perfect and unique products”, made full use of local advantages, natural resources, human characters and historical cultures, brought GI’s characteristics into full play, and carried forward GI products’ unique features. Through a reasonable plan, quality strategy’s implementation, it quickened GI products’ brand positioning, technique innovation and varieties development, and elevated the whole level of GI products.
4. To raise GI products’ market reputations on the basis of market demand. It thoroughly carried out brand promotions, products recommendations, information distributions and etc., strongly constructed “product-market docking” project, implemented online orders, order agreements, group purchases, supermarket exhibitions and other modern promotional manners, and created a diversified sales network. Taking “Fengxian Yellow Peaches” as an example, local government invested about eight million Yuan, built a market beside the orchard, which covered 16 000 m2 and had more than 600 booths, and created a direct access between orchardists and clients.
Through the registration and utilization of GI marks these years, the economic interests, biological benefits, and social effects of Shanghai GI products have been showed gradually.
First is that the qualities of GI have been constantly improved. Second is the GI products’ manufactures and sales scale have been enlarged. Third is GI products’ add-values have been steadily increased. Forth is famers’ incomes have got obvious growths. For example, “Chongming Daffodil” ‘s cultivated area has been enlarged from 8 Mu to 190 Mu after its registration, profit of cooperatives has been increased from 120 thousand to 500 thousand Yuan, and especially in 2012 the profit doubled than the previous year, and Chongming daffodil’s cultivated area has became the biggest for complex type daffodils in China. After the participation in SAIC hosted first national GI products exhibitions, “Chongming Daffodil” has a further development opportunity and greatly promoted its reputations and interests.
Next, Shanghai AIC will further push forward government’s foster policies; instruct agriculture enterprises and cooperatives to deepen industrial expansions, to conduct joint actions, to enhance trademark utilization managements; strongly guide to increase the actual power of GI marks; promote the formation of regional brands and local industrial groups; promote the improvement of agricultural products’ qualities, safeties, market competitiveness to increase agricultural products’ add-values; and better help farmers to increase incomes and to boom rural economies.
