Giresun Tombul Hazelnut Registered as a Geographical Indication Product in the European Union.

The “Giresun Tombul Hazelnut” was registered in our country by FISKOBIRLIK with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office of the Republic of Türkiye under designation of origin protection, dated 10.10.2001 and numbered 31.

Fiskobirlik also applied on 26.04.2018 to the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development for the registration of the “Giresun Tombul Hazelnut” under designation of origin protection.

The application made by FISKOBIRLIK to the European Union (EU) has been concluded, and with its publication in the Official Journal of the EU dated 20 June 2022 and numbered L164/1, the registration of the Giresun Tombul Hazelnut, known as Giresun Quality, as a geographical indication product has become final.

With its registration before the European Union (EU), the Giresun Tombul Hazelnut, known as the highest-quality hazelnut in the world and referred to as Giresun Quality, has been placed under protection against all kinds of misuse and imitation in all member states of the European Union.

The Giresun Tombul Hazelnut, our 8th product to represent our country by being registered with the European Union (EU) Commission, has also taken its place in the records of the European Commission as our 7th geographical indication product protected under a designation of origin.

The Giresun Tombul Hazelnut is a type of nut with a plump shape, grown in the geographical region along the coastal strip extending from Giresun province to the Beşikdüzü and Vakfikebir districts of Trabzon, and among other hazelnut varieties it has distinctive characteristics owing to its taste, aroma, the flavor it leaves in the mouth, its quality characteristics and its oil, vitamin and mineral values.

Making a statement on the subject, our FISKOBIRLIK Chairman of the Board Atty. Lütfi BAYRAKTAR said: “Our country has a very rich potential in geographical indication products. Since 2015, when our President reminded us that Türkiye is a very rich country in terms of geographical indications, which play an important role in the protection of local and regional values, and drew attention to international registrations, serious progress has been made in applications and registrations both in our country and before the EU Commission.

Our EU process, which began in 2018, has been completed as of today. Receiving the news that the Giresun Tombul Hazelnut has been registered with the EU Commission just before the hazelnut season has made us extremely happy, both on behalf of our growers and on behalf of the natural and legal persons who market and distribute it.

Looking at the registration holders and applicants of the geographical indication products that have been applied for or registered with the European Commission, FISKOBIRLIK ranks first as a Cooperative Union. This is because, in Europe, geographical indication products are protected in the name of unions and cooperatives. As FISKOBIRLIK, we would like to underline that we have carried out exemplary work in this regard.

As is known, the United Kingdom (UK) officially left the European Union on 31 January 2020. In this context, based on the geographical indication system that has taken its place in the field of Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights, our work for the registration of the Giresun Tombul Hazelnut in the UK as well will begin as of today. Thus, extending the protection of the Giresun Tombul Hazelnut to the UK will be an important step on the international platform.

In the European Union, geographical indication products in Spain, France and Italy create added value of 50-60 billion euros per year. Therefore, for our country, which has such a high potential in geographical indication products, we must act actively and swiftly, working in cooperation and with all our effort at the national and international level in order to create added value.

We thank ÖZENER PATENT, which worked meticulously as our geographical indication consultant throughout the entire process from application to registration of the Giresun Tombul Hazelnut with the European Commission; the Hazelnut Research Institute, which did not withhold its support after the application process; and finally all our colleagues who contributed.”