The effectiveness of contemporary Geographical Indications (GIs) schemes in enhancing the quality of Chinese agrifoods – Experiences from the field

Abstract

Food quality problems have frequently been in the news in China leading to growing concerns amongst consumers. Within this context, Geographical Indications (GIs), as an indicator of quality, are becoming increasingly important in the Chinese agrifood market. However, in the face of a number of GI agrifood scandals reported in the last decade, the effectiveness of contemporary Chinese GI schemes in terms of enhancing agrifood quality is becoming questionable. To discover the underlying reasons for this, the paper first provides an overview of Chinese GI schemes and conceptualises ‘agrifood quality’ using ideas drawn from socio-economic theory and network approaches, with a particular focus on the role of power relationships. It then applies the conceptual framework to case studies examining quality forming processes in three GI networks in Jiangxi Province. The research indicates that the development of Chinese GI networks is driven primarily by the government's intention to increase farmers' and rural incomes, and that the GI schemes examined in this study are characterised by low or basic standards, inappropriate GI issuing procedures and weak government quality inspection programmes. Therefore, the overall conclusion is that the quality of Chinese agrifood products may not be enhanced by GI schemes as currently implemented.