Mantiqueira’s coffee in Minas Gerais, Novo Remanso’s pineapple, in the interior of Amazonas, and the wines from Campanha Gaúcha are the most recent Geographical Indications (GIs) recognized by the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO). With the new registrations, Brazil already has 78 GIs, either by Indication of Origin (IO), based essentially on the region’s reputation with consumers and the market or by Denomination of Origin (DO), which refers to the link between the geographical environment and the product. In a diversity of colors and flavors, the Brazilian GIs have certified cheeses, guarana, cocoa, cachaça, clay pots, marble, shoes, and even opals, to name a few items.
A Sebrae survey revealed that agribusiness leads the number of GIs in Brazil, with 76% of the total, followed by the craft sector, with 13.4%. The GI of the Serra da Mantiqueira Region of Minas Gerais, which became a DO, gathers about 9,200 coffee producers, distributed in 25 municipalities, 89% of which are small businesses. Sebrae has identified 150 potential GIs by the year 2023.
The IO seal attributed to wines produced in Campanha Gaúcha, on the borders with Uruguay and Argentina, included 18 wineries operating in 18 municipalities in the region, with a production of more than 5.6 million liters of wine in 2019. Campanha Gaúcha is the second Brazilian wine production hub, with 31% of production. “The recent registration grants for GIs demonstrate the perception by producers that this is an important tool for the protection and enhancement of products and services from their regions, as well as the recognition of the regions themselves”, explained Daniel Adensohn, coordinator of the ABPI’s Geographical Indications Study Committee.
In the case of pineapple produced half a century ago by more than 1,800 farmers from the Amazon communities of Novo Remanso and Vila do Engenho, in the municipality of Itacoatiara, Caramuri, in Manaus, and areas of the municipality of Rio Preto da Eva, the IO was granted for its unique sweetness, which differentiates it from those produced in other areas of Brazil.
