Paški sir je jedan od najpoznatijih hrvatskih tradicijskih ovčjih sireva koji je zbog zadržavanja stoljetnog načina proizvodnje odavno zaštitni znak otoka Paga. Iako ima sve preduvjete, Paški sir još uvijek nije zaštićen jednom od zemljopisnih oznaka prema važećem zakonu. Cilj ovog rada je bio ispitati poznaju li proizvođači Paškog sira zemljopisne oznake (ZO), kako ih percipiraju te utvrditi njihova očekivanja o utjecaju ZO na povećanje konkurentnosti Paškog sira. Telefonsko ispitivanje je provedeno s 30 manjih proizvođača Paškog sira. Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali da je 18 proizvođača samo djelomično upoznato sa zemljopisnim oznakama i koristima koje one nose. Veće znanje o ZO imaju obrazovaniji proizvođači i oni koji su članovi udruga ili kooperanti mljekara (P<0,05). Iako većina ispitanika ima pozitivna očekivanje glede utjecaja ZO na konkurentnost Paškog sira, pozitivnija očekivanja imaju proizvođači koji više znaju o ZO (P<0,05).Pag cheese is one of the most famous Croatian traditional sheep cheese, and it is the trademark of the whole island of Pag because of its traditional way of production which is kept for centuries. Although it has all the prerequisites, Pag cheese still does not have geographical protection according to the current legislation. The aim of this paper was to determine whether producers of Pag cheese are familiar with geographical indications (GIs), their perceptions and expectations about these indications and impact of geographical indication on the competitiveness of Pag cheese. A telephone survey was conducted with 30 small scale cheese producers. The results showed that most of the surveyed producers are only partially familiar with GIs concept and their benefits. Higher level of knowledge about GIs has been found among more educated producers as well as among those who are members of producers\u27 association or co-operators of dairies (P<0.05). Even though most of the respondents have rather positive expectations about potential impact of GIs on Pag cheese competitiveness, producers with higher level of knowledge about GIs have more positive expectations compared to other respondents (P<0.05)
