India has asked Pakistan to expedite the process of filing joint applications for the registration of Geographical Indication of Basmati rice.
Last week, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath wrote to the Pakistan government seeking sought information on the locations to register the GI application and its management aspects, from Pakistan.
The letter said India has already chosen the members of the joint taskforce, while Pakistan has not taken any initiatives on the front.
Kamal Nath asked Pakistan to learn about the registration process since unlike India, Pakistan has not enacted legislation on GI.
Globally, GI is given to products with a reputation attributable to its place of origin or the area where it is manufactured. GI is highlighted during the marketing of the product to fetch a higher value.
GI is provided to products with a reputation attributable to its place of origin or the area of its manufacture. GI is highlighted during the marketing of the product to fetch a higher value.
Indian officials said Pakistan is delaying the process since the country has lost to India in the Basmati rice segment in the European market.
While India's Basmati rice exports to Europe rose to 2.20 lakh tonnes in September 2005-August 2006 from 1.82 lakh tonnes in September 2002-August 2003, Pakistan's exports plummeted to just 53,000 tonnes from 95,000 tonnes during the same period. The reason being, according to officials, unlike Pakistan, India's exports are free from aflatoxin problems.
Officials in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that India has been fighting with other countries over exclusive rights on Basmati. India and Pakistan are the largest Basmati producing countries.
"If India and Pakistan act together, there will not be dilution of Basmati GI," the official said.
Basmati rice is primarily cultivated in India and Pakistan. The Himalayan foothills are said to produce the best basmati. The Super Basmati, a premium variety from Pakistan and Dehra Dun from India, are the most prized of the basmati varieties.
The Rice Research Institute at Kala Shah Kaku (Pakistan) has been instrumental in developing various varieites of Basmati rice, including the popular variety of Super Basmati. Dr. Majeed is the scientist who developed this variety of Basmati rice in 1996.
Scientists at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi took the traditional basmati and genetically modified it to produce a hybrid which had most of the good features of traditional basmati (grain elongation, fragrance, alkali content) and the plant was a semi-dwarf type. This basmati was called Pusa Basmati-1. PB1 crop yield is higher than the traditional varieties (up to twice as much).
India is the largest producer and exporter of basmati rice in the world. The annual production in the country hovers at around 10-15 lakh tons a year, of which around two-thirds is exported. The remaining is consumed, within the country.
Pakistani exporters have been blaming Islamabad's failure to timely contest Indian registration of super basmati for export nine months ago as the main reason for the latest problem on exports.
This means Pakistani exporters have been unable to register super basmati with EU, even though Europeans are buying their brown basmati rice because of shortage in India.
Pakistani exporters said the Commerce Ministry in their country woke up late to contest the Indian claim for patenting Basmati varieties in one of the Indian courts.
But Indian officials say it is Pakistan's inaction that has resulted in the basmati rice issues that the exporters are facing there.
Last year, India won the case against a US company Texmathi for patenting Basmati rice. Soon after that, the Indian government had suggested to Islamabad to jointly claim patenting for Basmati varieties to meet the geographical indicators clause.
But officials here say Pakistan's Commerce Ministry did not respond to the Indian request, forcing India to go ahead to claim for intellectual property right on Basmati.
