Give Pakistani rice the Basmati tag

Rejection by India based on some petty procedural grounds seems unfair

Strangely enough, it has taken India nearly seven years to properly initiate the process to protect Basmati rice. This premium, scented variety of rice deserves Geographic Indication (GI) status under the global intellectual property rights (IPR) regime. Indeed, this process is long overdue, given bids by other countries to eat into India's market share by offering their products under similar-sounding brand names - Kasmati, Jasmati and Taxmati being just some examples. India's apex IPR regulator, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), has now directed the Chennai-based Geographic Indications Registry to formally attach GI tag to the Basmati rice grown in specified areas of six northern states - Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Claims from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha are still pending.

However, the IPAB has unwisely turned down the application by the Lahore-based Basmati Growers Association for the GI tag for some rice produced in Pakistan as well. This rejection, based on petty procedural grounds, seems unfair. After all, Basmati grown along the Himalayan foothills in that country possesses the same qualities as rice on the other side of the border and deserves to be covered under the GI regime. The GI label is issued under the TRIPs agreement for goods having unique characteristics attributable to their geographical location. This mark is essential to maintain exclusivity of local products in the international market. According to Article 22 of the TRIPs, unless a GI product is protected in the country of its origin, there is no obligation for other countries to extend reciprocal protection. Basmati vitally needs this tag; it is one of India's major exports. In 2014-15, 3.7 million tonnes of Basmati rice worth around Rs 27,600 crore were exported. What sets Basmati apart from other aromatic rices is not only its unmatched aroma and taste but also the fact that its grains, on cooking, elongate laterally without swelling up, and do not stick to each other. Besides, the plants of true Basmati rice are highly sensitive to factors like the duration of daytime, temperature and humidity during their growing season. These conditions are found only in the tracts along the Himalayan foothills.

Clearly, Pakistan also grows Basmati in the same tracts and under the same agro-ecological conditions. The Basmati producers' bodies of that country should, therefore, be given another chance to file their claim for GI protection. Since Basmati is the common heritage of both India and Pakistan, such a tag would be mutually beneficial to ward off bio-piracy by third countries. Pakistan, in fact, should already have realised this and joined hands with India in fighting litigation abroad even in the past. India, in any case, is in an advantageous position. It already enjoys over a 60 per cent share in the global Basmati rice market and is quite capable of retaining it through measures like quality assurance and brand building. Much of Pakistan's Basmati rice exports, on the other hand, is of unbranded grain shipped in bulk - which cannot compete with well-established Indian brands. However, the GI tag applications from Madhya Pradesh and other states on behalf of scented rice produced there should be evaluated separately, based on the evidence that they can provide in support of their claims.