Krabi province has filed geographical indication (GI) registration applications for three indigenous products: hoi chak teen (wing shells), Khlong Thom coffee and Laem Sak shrimp paste.
The move is in line with the government's bid to push for GI registration to cover every province by this year.
Krabi Chamber of Commerce secretary Siritorn Julchoo said the province, which currently fetches about 84 billion baht a year from tourism, expects higher income if the province receives GI registration from the Commerce Ministry.
A GI is a distinctive sign used to identify a product as originating in the territory of a particular country, region or locality where its quality, reputation or other characteristics are linked to its place of origin.
GI certification reflects the unique characteristics and quality of products, which in turn boosts market value in developed countries.
The internationally-recognised GI system also protects a product by certifying it comes from a certain area and has characteristics that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
Wing shells are harvested by local fishermen twice a month.
The aim is to keep competitors from using the area's name or misleading the public about a product's origin.
Champagne, named after the region in France where sparkling wine is made, is the most famous example of a GI-protected product.
So far 76 products, including recently certified Tak Bai dried salted fish and Pone Yang Kum beef, from 53 provinces have obtained GI registration from the Intellectual Property Department. Fourteen foreign products have now also obtained GI registration from the department.
Workers process dried shrimp to make shrimp paste at Laem Sak factory.
At the global level, six Thai products won GI certification from the European Union and Vietnam.
Hom mali, the fragrant rice grown in Surin, Maha Sarakham, Buri Ram, Si Sa Ket, Roi Et and Yasothon provinces, Doi Chang and Doi Tung, two well-known coffee varieties made from beans cultivated in the hills of Chiang Rai, and Sangyod, a strain of rice from Phatthalung province have all won GI certification from the EU, while Isan traditional silk and Lamphun Thai Silk were awarded GI certification from Vietnam.
Thailand, through the Intellectual Property Department, is filing a GI registration in China for hom mali rice, Siam ruby grapefruit from the Pak Phanang district of Nakhon Si Thammarat, and sweet tamarind from Phetchabun.
Hoi chak teen is a type of wing shell, belonging to the strombus canxarium family, that looks like a conch but is smaller and brown in colour. This local seashell is recognised as a delicacy in Krabi and found only in the sea in Krabi and nearby provinces. Harvesting is only done by local fishermen twice a month during the receding spring tide.
Khlong Thom or Krabi Coffee is a robusta bean variety largely grown in flatlands and is a stronger bean than its counterpart, arabica. It has a slightly more bitter taste and a higher caffeine content. The rich volcanic minerals in Khlong Thom district create a unique taste for coffee, and generates a lucrative income to local communities.
Thosapone Dansuputra, director-general of the Intellectual Property Department, said the government has focused specifically on strengthening local communities' production and products in line with its commitment to promoting local economic development.
Krabi has filed a GI registration application for its Laem Sak shrimp paste.
The cabinet in December approved the 190-billion-baht mid-year budget with the aim of injecting money into the economy, especially provincial areas, to spur growth and private investment.
Of the total, 27 billion baht will be used to fund the 2017 fiscal budget deficit, 100 billion will go to local development for 18 provincial clusters and the rest will go to village funds.
The mid-year expenditure is one of the several mechanisms that will be instrumental in helping stimulate local economic development and raising incomes.
The Commerce Ministry, which handles marketing, has also vowed to look into developing the domestic market to absorb farmers' output and connect the agricultural market and One Tambon One Product programme to tourism, not only exports.
By fiscal 2017, according to Mr Thosapone, the department seeks to push for GI registration to cover 77 provinces nationwide while promoting GI registration in foreign countries to add value to Thai indigenous products.
Mr Thosapone said the department is also revving up the GI registration of six provinces, Kanchanaburi, Ranong, Satun, Samut Sakhon, Sing Buri and Kamphaeng Phet, which have yet to register any GIs or submit applications for GI registration.
A worker dries shrimp under the sun in a dome in Krabi.
Khlong Thom coffee is also on Krabi's GI registration application list.
Thosapone Dansuputra director-general of the Intellectual Property Department