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BELGIAN CHOCOLATIERS IN BITTER WAR AGAINST FOREIGN CHOCOLATES THAT CLAIM TO BE 'BELGIAN'

Guy Gallet rifles through his desk in search of another example of the products he says are
threatening Belgium's famed chocolatiers. The head of the
industry association pulls out a carton of
"dark Belgian chocolates" from
Malaysia. They are
flavoured with durian, the spiky,yellow fruit which gives off such
a strong smell that it is banned from hotels and public transport
across Asia.
It is not quite the luxury product that Belgium's chocolate makers may want their brand associated
with, nor are the other examples from countries including
Hungary, Israel and China which boast of their "Belgian Royal
Flavour", "Belgian Recipe" and "Belgian Perfection". None of
them, however, were made in Belgium, and only a handful contain ingredients from the
nation synonymous with chocolate. Such products,industry experts argue, are
misleading consumers, eating
into sales of the genuine article,and hampering efforts by
chocolatiers to cash in on the rapidly growing Asian market.
"If we didn't have this problem we would be able to export even
more; the export potential would be bigger," says Mr Gallet,the secretary general of Choprabisco, which represents the nation's chocolate, praline and biscuit manufacturers.
"Those products are of lower quality, are cheaper, but look like
the Belgian chocolate products that are also in those shops."
There is plenty of incentive for Belgium's chocolatiers to take steps to protect their brand.
While the market in Europe shrunk by 5 per cent last year
and consumption even decreased slightly in Belgium,
sales in Asia have doubled in three years and continue to rise.
The region has taken over from North America as the second-biggest market for luxury
chocolates after Europe.
Figures from the Belgian economic affairs office show
that nearly 45,000 tons of chocolate products were
exported to Asia last year, up from around 15,000 tons 10
years ago. Exports to China last year were worth 23.2 million
euros (£19.8 mn), up from 3.8 million euros in 2006, as the same demographic which snaps up European wines turns its
attention to high-end
chocolates.
"You have there a growing middle class and upper-class
population that is discovering luxury products and very high-quality chocolate is perceived as
a luxury product," says Mr Gallet.Protecting intellectual property
rights is a problem shared with many industries trying to break into the Asian market, where the
proliferation of counterfeit goods has been vexing foreign
businesses for decades. But Belgium's chocolate makers may have a solution. Choprabisco and other industry bodies are mulling applying for the coveted EU protected designation of
origin status, which has helped places like Champagne, Parma
and Melton Mowbray guard against pale imitations of their
sparkling wine, ham and pies.
While in the past only regions were able to apply, a change in
the EU regulations last year has opened up the status to nations.
If approved - and the process can take a few years - the
designation would put a stop to copycats in other EU nations
labelling their chocolates as "Belgian" unless they met strict standards.​
It would also give Belgian companies a sound footing to
challenge manufacturers further
afield, especially those which have trade agreements with the
EU.
"Even if in the first phase it is just protection in Europe, we are sure that it will dissuade foreign
manufactures," Mr Gallet told The Independent.
Up until now, the industry has used European labelling
legislation to try to crack down on producers in EU nations which they think are misleading
consumers.
Further afield, they approached individual manufactures or
asked the economic sections of Belgian embassies to intervene.But this is only having limited
effect, and people working in the industry want to protect not only their sales, but also the
quality of the brand.
"If everyone starts using the term, then what is the value?
Nothing," Steven Candries,export manager at Belgium's
Guylian chocolatier, told Reuters news agency. "We want Belgium to be thought of as the chocolate version of the
Champagne region among sparkling wines."
Belgium has one of the biggest chocolate industries in the
world, bringing in 4 billion euros in revenue each year.