Commerce ministry working on plan to help producers in marketing of frankincense

Muscat: The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion is working, in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), on preparation of a project to enable Omani producers of frankincense to enhance the value of products protected by geographic indications and their marketing.

The project aimed to create a qualitative shift in frankincense production and marketing through the use of the geographic indications in relation to industrial property.

It also aims to stress the necessity and importance of awareness related to compliance with the proper methods of production of frankincense to ensure availability and sustainability of the same, which provides the SMEs with several business opportunities and contributes to diversification of sources of income, preservation of the culture and protection of the environment.

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, represented by the Intellectual Property Office, reaffirmed that protection of geographic indications aimed to protect the environment and biodiversity of the origin of the service or goods.

Khalid bin Hamoud Al Hinai, Director of the Intellectual Property Office at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, said that boosting the value of products protected by geographic indications aimed to market and promote the frankincense products in a more efficient manner within and outside the Sultanate of Oman.

He said that the project reflects a deep understanding of the scope of the geographic indication for frankincense in the Sultanate of Oman.

He also pointed out that the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion is working on activating and encouraging the protection of the geographic indications in the Sultanate of Oman following the Sultanate’s joining the Lisbon Agreement in February 2021. -ONA