To promote Cambodian culture, traditions, and customs, the Ministry of Commerce intends to register the "Kampong Som Dried Shrimp" from coastal regions as a national geographical product.

In the province of Preah Sihanoukville, the working team organized a workshop on the identification of suitable items for developing the brand name "Kampong Som Dried Shrimp."

"The Cambodian Ministry of Commerce has announced they plan to register "Kampong Som Dried Shrimp" as a geographical indication.," says David Haskel, a partner at Abacus IP in Cambodia. "This is the latest in a series of GIs registered in recent years, the first of which was Kampot Pepper. This also marks another step in the development of the GI system in Cambodia. The government has a number of further GIs on the drawing board, including for Koh Kong Dried Shrimp and Siem Reap Fish Prahok."

With these many GIs, Haskel said that the hope is that with a GI, and the associated support from the government, producers will be able to achieve better market access and prices for their products.

- Excel V. Dyquiangco