VietNamNet Bridge – Something smells funny on Ly Son Island, as the mass trading of fake garlic has hurt the island’s signature trade.

Original brand of Ly Son district brand is offered at shopping centres in Da Nang.Photo courtesy Ly Son seafood company

The fake products have surfaced in shops in Quang Ngai District’s Quang Ngai City.

Vice chairwoman of the district’s people’s committee Pham Thi Huong told Viet Nam News that when the issue had arisen in the past, strict measures were used to tackle the problem.

Huong said the district, in co-operation with the provincial border guard and market watch, was working to stop illegal shipments of fake Ly Son garlic from the mainland to the island.

She said the district seized 620kg of garlic that was headed from Khanh Hoa to the island to be sold under the Ly Son trademark.

“We found that some farmers transported garlic planted and harvested in a district in Khanh Hoa to sell on Ly Son Island. Tourists could not recognise what original Ly Son garlic is. Sellers (from other provinces) display garlic in packages without any label or certificates of origin,” Huong said.

She said fake garlic was transported to the island when local farmers have yet harvested garlic from farm.

Huong said the district produced more than 6,500 tonnes of garlic in crops of 2017.

Ly Son garlic is priced at VND60,000 (US$2.6) for a fresh kilo, and VND150,000 ($6.6) for a dried kilo, according to the district.

The provincial market watch agency has been seeking shops and traders selling the dodgy goods in Quang Ngai City.

Many shops and traders have used the Ly Son trademark without permission, according to the provincial department of trade and industry.

In 2007, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, recognised the brand ownership for the products of Ly Son Island including garlic, onion, seafood, garlic wine, dried seafood and seaweed for 50 households on the island.

The island, known as the Kingdom of Garlic in Vietnam, has 21,000 inhabitants, of whom 73 per cent make their living from farming garlic and spring onions or fishing. 

Source: VNS