GI mark for basmati delayed as MP cos, farmers oppose APEDA

Apeda representatives said GI registration should be seen from a "national interest" perspective, as Pakistan also is claiming rights over Basmati

While the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Agency (Apeda) is in a hurry to register the geographical indication (GI) for Basmati rice, the agency’s legal battles with Madhya Pradesh-based companies and farmers are delaying the process. Basmati Growers Association of Pakistan has also challenged Apeda’s move.

Apeda representatives said the GI registration should be seen from a “national interest” perspective, as Pakistan is also claiming rights over Basmati.

Apeda and the Madhya Pradesh government and growers have been locked in a dispute on whether the Basmati grown in these parts has the characteristics of original Basmati grown in Uttarakhand, claimed for inclusion in GI registry.

The agency has challenged the GI Registry order, asking them to amend the application for registration to include the uncovered area, including certain areas in Madhya Pradesh, before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB).

The legal battle is on at IPAB, in Chennai. On Monday, when various appeals and petitions related to the GI registration had come up, a new petition was filed by MP-based New Darpan Social Welfare Society to implead in the case.

During the hearing, IPAB chairman K N Basha and technical member (trade marks) Sanjeev Kumar Chaswal posted the matter for hearing to the last week of February . The Board has heard six of the nine applications, related to the matter and need to hear the Basmati Growers Association from Pakistan, along with another application from Daawat Foods, a leading company in the business.

A K Gupta, director of Apeda, said, “We must have the GI for Basmati before others start claiming and it is important from the global perceptive as the matter is of national interest.”  He added if everybody starts claiming and growing, it would lead to oversupply. This will have consequences on farmers.

Apeda is defending the GI of Basmati grown in two districts of Jammu and Kashmir, undivided Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, western Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

“We are in a bit of hurry to register the GI in India,” the counsel for Apeda told IPAB on Monday.

Experts said if Apeda includes MP, other states will claim it, too. This would make the GI weak. The Pakistani claim says: “Basmati is a name for a slender, aromatic and long-grain variety of rice grown in the specific geographical area at the foothills of the Himalayas in Pakistan.”

Three years ago, it was proposed that both India and Pakistan apply for a GI but for various political and legal reasons, the plan was dropped.