PROTECTED PRODUCTS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION – SELECTED ECONOMIC ASPECTS

The aim of the paper is to present the situation of the protected products market in the European Union in terms of their supply. To protect the names of specific products, their unique characteristics, and the traditional manufacture, a quality scheme with the following designations: Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), Geographical Indication (GI) and Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG) was introduced in the European Union. EU databases such as eAmbrosia, GIview and European Commissions reports were used in this study. Recently available data and, to show changes, data for 2013- 2023 were used. Conducting research proved that the role of protected agri-food products is growing, both in terms of value and quantity. This may indicate that food producers are becoming more active in submitting products to the protected product system, which is also beneficial to consumers. However, there are large disparities among EU countries in terms of producers’ activity in registering products. Most of the agri-food products on the register of protected products come from southern Europe countries. The structure of registered agrifood products is dominated by vegetables and fruits, cheeses, and meat and meat products.