Pamelo Pangkep Orange as a Geographical Indication

JAKARTA: Pamelo Pangkep Orange, an Icon of the Pangkep District of the South Sulawesi Province’s, have made an application at the Directorate General of Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights ("DJKI") to be registered as a product under geographical indication. This registration was made amidst the government's efforts to encourage each region to make this application, which is an effort of the government who is now trying to increase the registration rate of geographical indication products in their respective regions as Indonesia possesses far greater potential than other countries.

This application was submitted by the Pangkep Pamelo Orange Geographical Indication Protection Society, located in the District of Pangkep, South Sulawesi on 10 August 2022 with application number E.IG.15.2022.000007 and officially announced in the official Gazettes on 22 December 2022. The announcement lasted until 22 February 2023.

Pamelo oranges, also known as the Jumbo oranges, have a large size with yellowish green skin and red contents. Initially, this orange type was cultivated by the community in the Pangkep District in the individual yard of the local community, after upon the fruit achieving a sweet tamarind taste was sold well in the market, the farmers developed it into a commercial plantation production. There are two types of this oranges, first the type that has red juice color, the second with only with white juice color. Pamelo orange with red juice color has a thinner mesocarp so that the edible portion of the fruit is relatively larger. The vitamin C content of both types of Pamelo oranges have also showed high values, making it nutritious for consumers who take them.

According to the application document, Pamelo orange is one of the leading commodities of the Pangkep District and is very popular and in demand in the market, both at home and abroad. These characteristics have encouraged the local government and community to maintain its quality by applying for a geographical indication registration.

The DJKI efforts to encourage geographical indication registration products are carried out by socialization and dissemination of information to the regions, simplifying the procedures of registration supported by the provision of easy to understand guidelines. The challenges of post registration procedures are also the continued effort to sustainably produce with consistent high quality of the products (RIE-BDP/su).