IMPACT OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAMBODIA’S AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

10.31857/S032150750009093-4

Elena S. BUROVA
Research Fellow, Institute of Far Eastern Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences (IFES RAS) ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

   Kampot pepper takes its name from the province of Kampot, in south-west Cambodia, some 140 kilometers from the capital of Phnom Penh. The pepper growing area of Kampot covers six districts located in the province of Kampot and that of Kep (which was recently separated from Kampot). Pepper has always been one of the main industries of the Kampot region. Its flavour and its pugnacity made it one of the best peppers in the world – the unchallenged king of spice in the kitchens of the most renowned French chefs. The origin of a product, the natural environment of the production region, leads to subtle difference of its quality, of its taste, and given its distinctive character.

   Unfortunately the events that took place in Cambodia in 1970-1993 destroyed the majority of the production. 2010 marked a watershed in the renaissance of Kampot pepper with the establishment of a GIs (geographical indication) label by the Ministry of Trade and the French Development Agency. Kampot pepper thus became the first Cambodian agricultural product to be granted GIs status.

   The article highlights the features of Cambodia's agricultural development, as well as the long history of Kampot pepper production. The purpose of present article is to evaluate the influence of the assignment of geographical indication (GIs) to the sort of pepper, grown in the Cambodian province of Kampot on the development of this fats growing branch of agriculture and to show the role of GIs in the dynamics of pepper production, the income growth of households, transformation of production structure, as well as export geography, to touch on the negative aspect of the GIs assignment.

Cambodia, geographical indications, Kampot pepper, Cambodian pepper industry, agriculture