Bangladesh now has 64 GI products: Industries minister
Savar’s traditional sweet is not among the 64 products registered as geographical indication goods in Bangladesh, he says.
Bangladesh now has 64 products registered as geographical indication (GI) products, but Savar's traditional sweets are not among them, Commerce and Industries Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir said today (2 September).
"The 64 registered products include traditional agricultural products, food, handicrafts and textiles from different parts of the country," he told parliament in reply to a question from Dhaka-19 BNP lawmaker Dewan Mohammad Salahuddin Babu.
The products include Jamdani saree, hilsa, Chapainawabganj's Khirsapat mango, Bijoypur Sada Mati, Dinajpur's Kataribhog rice, Kalijira rice, Rangpur's Shataranji, Rajshahi silk, Dhakai muslin, bagda shrimp, Fazli mango, Sherpur's Tulshimala rice, shital pati, Bogura doi, and Langra and Ashwina mangoes.
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Other GI-recognised products include Natore's Kachagolla, Black Bengal goat, Tangail's Porabari Chamcham, Cumilla's roshmalai, Kushtia's tiler khaja, Rangpur's Haribhanga mango, Moulvibazar's agar attar, Muktagachha's monda, Jashore's date molasses, Narsingdi's Amrit Sagar banana, Rajshahi's sweet paan, Gopalganj's roshogolla, Jamalpur's nakshi kantha and Tangail saree.
The list also includes Narsingdi's lotkon, Madhupur pineapple, Bhola buffalo-milk curd, Magura's Hajrapuri litchi, Sirajganj gamcha, Sylhet's Manipuri saree, Mirpur katan saree, Dhakai phuti karpas cotton seeds and plants, Cumilla khadi, Brahmanbaria's Chanamukhi sweet, Gopalganj bronze jewellery, Sundarbans honey, Sherpur chhanar payesh, Sirajganj lungi, Kishoreganj's Rataboro rice and Ashtagram paneer.
Other registered GI products are Barishal's hog plum, Kumarkhali bedsheet, Dinajpur's Bedana litchi, Munshiganj's patakhir, Jamurki sandesh of Mirzapur in Tangail, Naogaon's Nak Fazli mango, Meherpur's Mehersagor banana, Netrakona's Balish sweet, Phulbaria's Lalchini, Meherpur's Himsagar mango, Faridpur jute, Meherpur's Sabitri sweet, Kaliganj towel, Joypurhat's Lotiraj taro and Manikganj's Hazari jaggery.
Dhaka-19 lawmaker Babu had specifically asked whether Savar's traditional sweets had been included in the GI product list.
In reply, the industries minister said Savar's traditional sweets are not currently on the list.
A GI, or geographical indication, is a recognition that gives a product particularly associated with a specific area a distinct identity based on its geographical origin. It also creates an opportunity to legally protect the product's heritage and distinctiveness.
The Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, under the Ministry of Industries, is responsible for registering and protecting geographical indication products in Bangladesh.
