In a meeting in Beijing with Shuping Zhi, deputy minister for general administration of quality supervision, inspection and auarantine (AQSIQ), the first minister was reassured that the Chinese Government would shortly introduce Geographic Indication (GI) of Origin Status to Scotch – a move that will provide additional legal protection against imitations, ensuring all products labelled as Scotch Whisky must come from Scotland.
The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) applied to the Chinese Government for GI status in 2007 and in April last year the first minister led a delegation with the SWA, Scottish Enterprise and the UK ambassador in Beijing to meet China’s minister of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine, Mr Wang Yong, to help secure the designation.
Global exports of Scotch Whisky reached record levels in 2009, rising by 3% in value to £3.13 billion and contributing £99 every second to the UK trade balance, according to SWA figures.
Around 10,000 people are directly employed in the whisky industry, though it supports an estimated 41,000 Scottish jobs, including 7,000 in rural communities.
The SWA has been working with a range of government departments and agencies, including the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, UK Trade & Investment and the UK Ambassador in Beijing for almost three years to secure the ‘geographical indication’ designation.
GI status assures consumers that produce comes from, or has been processed in a particular region renowned for the quality of such produce. Examples include Scotch Whisky, Champagne and Parma ham. Scotch Whisky is already defined in UK law and protected at European Union and World Trade Organisation level as a recognised GI.
Source: The Scottish Government
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