Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the value the 84 Protected Geographical Indicators add to the rural economy

Exports of products from the UK’s 84 geographical indications (GIs) are valued at approximately £5bn per year, and about £1billion in domestic sales. Much of the production takes place in rural, often remote, areas providing vital input to local economies. This includes, for example, Scotch whisky and Scottish farmed salmon which are the UK’s two largest GI exports by value, and Welsh lamb, as well as smaller-scale products like Stornoway Black Pudding and Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese.

GI protection acts in two ways to add value to rural economies. Firstly, it increases the value of the protected products. Academic studies suggest that UK consumers are prepared to pay between 7% and 20% more for GI products, though this varies considerably from product to product. Secondly, it protects sales volumes, particularly of exports, by preventing others from imitating the genuine article.