Pakistan is considering a proposal from the Indian government to jointly register basmati rice produced by the two countries though some of its farmers accuse India of stealing their ‘Super basmati’ seeds.
The registration is meant to profit from the vast EU market that is currently in the process of conducting DNA tests in Pakistan before moving on to India and Nepal. India and Pakistan are the world's traditional producers of basmati rice, with Nepal recently joining them.
The EU has sent a team to conduct DNA tests of basmati rice in Pakistan, India and Nepal to determine the EU's policy on basmati imports from each of these South Asian countries.
Some Pakistani exporters alleged that India had stolen a seed variety developed in Pakistan called super basmati. They said growers in collaboration with local institutions developed the seed here, and this variety was in high demand in the world market.
However, they claimed, a few years ago two Sikh pilgrims visiting Pakistan took super basmati seeds with them and started cultivation in India. Eventually, Indian farmers developed a strong super basmati crop and started exporting it.
An rice exporter was quoted by The Daily Times as alleging that this was “a clear case of piracy and should be should be barred from using the name super basmati & be challenged in Indian courts”.
The EU team will decide on the comparative quality of the Pakistani and Indian basmati. If the DNA tests conducted by the EU team show Pakistan's basmati rice to be of equal or better quality to India's, the European market will remain open to Pakistani rice exports. However, if the tests fail to show the rice is of a distinct quality, the EU could impose an embargo on Pakistani basmati.
Pakistan's rice exporters say that since India has registered its basmati in the international market, Pakistan should do the same under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. They have also complained that the government was delaying framing a “Geographical Indication (GI) law”.
The official said that the government was preparing a GI law to register farm and traditional products specifically produced or manufactured in Pakistan.
Pakistan has set a $2 billion rice export target for this fiscal. Rice exporters surpassed last year's $1 billion export target by exporting $1.2 billion worth of rice.
(excerpt: indiatimes tuesday dec 05, 2006 02:47:57 am)
The registration is meant to profit from the vast EU market that is currently in the process of conducting DNA tests in Pakistan before moving on to India and Nepal. India and Pakistan are the world's traditional producers of basmati rice, with Nepal recently joining them.
The EU has sent a team to conduct DNA tests of basmati rice in Pakistan, India and Nepal to determine the EU's policy on basmati imports from each of these South Asian countries.
Some Pakistani exporters alleged that India had stolen a seed variety developed in Pakistan called super basmati. They said growers in collaboration with local institutions developed the seed here, and this variety was in high demand in the world market.
However, they claimed, a few years ago two Sikh pilgrims visiting Pakistan took super basmati seeds with them and started cultivation in India. Eventually, Indian farmers developed a strong super basmati crop and started exporting it.
An rice exporter was quoted by The Daily Times as alleging that this was “a clear case of piracy and should be should be barred from using the name super basmati & be challenged in Indian courts”.
The EU team will decide on the comparative quality of the Pakistani and Indian basmati. If the DNA tests conducted by the EU team show Pakistan's basmati rice to be of equal or better quality to India's, the European market will remain open to Pakistani rice exports. However, if the tests fail to show the rice is of a distinct quality, the EU could impose an embargo on Pakistani basmati.
Pakistan's rice exporters say that since India has registered its basmati in the international market, Pakistan should do the same under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. They have also complained that the government was delaying framing a “Geographical Indication (GI) law”.
The official said that the government was preparing a GI law to register farm and traditional products specifically produced or manufactured in Pakistan.
Pakistan has set a $2 billion rice export target for this fiscal. Rice exporters surpassed last year's $1 billion export target by exporting $1.2 billion worth of rice.
(excerpt: indiatimes tuesday dec 05, 2006 02:47:57 am)
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