GI indication for Lanka’s cinnamon

Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

The Spice and Allied Products Producers’ Association Chairman Christopher Fernando in an interview with Daily News Business explained why geographical indication for cinnamon is important.

Excerpts of the interview:

A geographical indication is a sign used on goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities, reputation or characteristics that are essentially attributable to that place of origin.

Most commonly, a geographical indication includes the name of the place of origin of the goods.

Agricultural products typically have qualities that derive from their place of production and are influenced by specific local factors, such as climate and soil. Whether a sign is recognized as a geographical indication is a matter of national law.

Geographical indications may be used for a wide variety of products, whether natural, agricultural or manufactured.

The use of geographical indications is not limited to agricultural products. They may also highlight qualities of a product which are due to human factors associated with the place of origin of the products, such as specific manufacturing skills and traditions. That place of origin may be a village or town, a region or a country.

A geographical indication points to a specific place, or region of production, that determines the characteristic qualities of the product which originates from that place.

A geographical indication tells consumers that a product is produced in a certain place and has certain characteristics that are due to that place of production.

Geographical Indication Regulation plays an important role in maintaining the typical features of local agricultural food products and in encouraging their development. Firstly, because many such products possess exceptional qualities of taste and flavour and, secondly, because the local methods used to produce them create a bond of trust between the consumer, the product, the place where it originates and the people living there who develop it.

The two types of GI indicate different levels of connection with a geographical area. Consumer protection - prevents deception and higher profits through price premiums.

Why GI protection?

* Right of exclusion
* Protection of reputation
* Protection of collective goodwill
* Protection and assurance of quality
* Establish the genuineness
* Prevent misuse by others
* Ensure quality
* Better returns

Effective tool for preserving unique heritage products.

Therefore, to qualify for protection an indication must identify the good and its area of geographical origin, possess a given quality, reputation or other characteristics whichis essentially attributable to its area of geographic origin. Manufactured goods over a period of time while agricultural goods easily discernible.

A geographical indication cannot be created, but it can be identified and developed.

Examples of possible Sri Lankan Geographical Indications.

Extent of cinnamon in major districts (ha).
Total extent - 28,230 ha
Galle - 10,658
Matara - 7,969
Kalutara - 3,150
Ratnapura - 3,218
Hambantota - 2,361
Other - 874

Low country -
less than 300m AMSL
Mid country -
300-900m AMSL

Low and mid country wet zone - Rain fall 2,200-3,300mm
* Originally grown in rain forests of central hill country and crop harvested and sold.
* Domesticated by Dutch in mid 17th century
* First in Colombo (Cinnamon Garden) and in Western costal belt around Negombo
* With the encroachment Dutch in the Southern part of Sri Lanka, cinnamon was established as a plantation crop in Galle and Matara districts.
* At present, 97 percent of cinnamon cultivations are in the Western and southern costal belts of the island.

Climate

The most suitable temperature is between 20c and 30c. Rainfall should be in the region of 1250 mm to 2500 mm.

Sri Lanka is the world’s largest producer of cinnamon, with a total production of around 11,597 metric tonnes exported in 2008, supplying about 90 percent of the world’s favourite.

Ceylon cinnamon offers distinctive characteristics of quality and flavour, and also a global reputation for more than a century. Broadly speaking there are two factors which have contributed to such an exceptional and distinctive taste, namely geographical origin and processing.

Thus Ceylon cinnamon has been cultivated, grown and produced in cinnamon gardens in a well-known geographical area - the Ambalangoda and Matara district in the down south - for over a half century. The cinnamon plantations are located at certain metres of elevations of above sea level.

Often referred to as ‘real cinnamon’ or ‘true cinnamon’, Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Blume) is native to Sri Lanka. This cinnamon is lighter brown in colour, papery and brittle and the bark coils into a single spiralled quill.

The industry had remained more or less stagnant, probable reason for this could be attributed to the dominance of ‘Cassia’ much cheaper variety of the genus cinnamon.

Cassia is a term used to describe cinnamon that originates from China and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, primarily Chinese cinnamon (C. cassia), Vietnamese or Saigon cinnamon (C. loureirii) and Indonesian cinnamon (C. burmanii). These cinnamon varieties have a stronger, more intense and often hotter flavour than Ceylon cinnamon due to an increased percentage of cinnamaldehyde, up to 5 to 6 percent by weight.

Cassia also has a significant amount of the blood-thinning phytochemical coumarin a toxic substance which has led Germany to ban its importation. Common cinnamon has shown promise in the treatment of Type II diabetes.

Since the publication of a study conducted by the Agricultural Research Unit in Maryland in 2000, there has been a lot of interest in cinnamon’s therapeutic value in enhancing the effects of insulin in the body.

One of the chemical compounds in cinnamon, hydroxychalcone, has been shown to lower blood glucose levels, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, prompting some experts to recommend the addition of a daily dose of cinnamon to the diet of diabetics.

The medicinal value of Sri Lanka’s cinnamon has widened the market opportunities in the international market of true cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnmaomum Zeylinicum) produced only in Sri Lanka has a greater opportunity in this emerging markets.

There is an increasing preference for natural flavours all over the world. Demand for cinnamon oil is expected to grow

steadily in the future. In recent years there has been a growing interest in local and traditional agricultural products and foodstuffs within European societies and more recently in many countries throughout the world.

The government has taken positive initiatives to develop the cinnamon industry.

Some of the actions are as follows: Cabinet approval has been granted to the Export Development Board to hold ownership of the Ceylon Cinnamon Brand.

A logo was designed and preparation of rules and regulation and certification procedure of brand launching programme is in progress.

The EDB acts as a focal body of the programme with Export Agriculture Department, Spice Council, SAPPTA, Commerce Department, SLSI and National Intellectual Property Office of Sri Lanka.

We believe that further action taken for GI status for Ceylon cinnamon is important considering it a priority.