According to a notice published last week in the Diário da República (Official Gazette), a national decision was issued in favour of registering the name ‘Cereja de Alfândega da Fé’ as a PGI, submitted by the “Cooperativa Agrícola de Alfândega da Fé” (Alfândega da Fé Agricultural Cooperative), in the district of Bragança.

The PGI requires the product to have certain characteristics and production conditions to be marketed with this qualification.

The certification process began more than 10 years ago.

In 2015, the then-president of the cooperative and current mayor of Alfândega da Fé, Eduardo Tavares, told Lusa that this classification would be a "valuable asset" for the product.

"The national decision confers national protection to the Alfândega da Fé cherry as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), effective from 3 December 2025, the date of submission of the registration request to the European Commission," reads the notice.

The cherry has become the symbol of this municipality in the Bragança district, where approximately 200 tons of the fruit are harvested in a good year.

Its promotion is carried out through the Cherry Fair in June, the largest event in Alfândega da Fé.