Pakistan shall respond well. An attack on our geographical indication—Basmati rice—will be averted, promises Pakistan government. On 11 September this year, an attack meant to spread terror in Pakistan’s rice export industry was launched by the Indians when the European Union’s official journal announced that India has applied for an exclusive geographical indication tag to Basmati rice. This move is intended to exclude Pakistani Basmati rice from Europe as if not opposed, Pakistan would not be able to export Basmati to Europe.
Pakistan prime minister’s advisor on commerce Razak Dawood on 6 October announced that Pakistan will file an opposition to this Indian claim. In a meeting he chaired and attended by commerce secretary, IPO-Pakistan chairman, representatives of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan, and some members of the legal fraternity, he categorically said that Pakistan would vehemently oppose India’s application in the European Union and restrain India from obtaining exclusive GI tag of Basmati rice. He further supported the concerns of Reap and relevant stakeholders and ensured that their claim for Basmati rice as GI would be protected.
Pakistan, however, is still not legally in a position to take any such action.
In March this year, Pakistan, after dragging feet for almost two decades, decided to formulate a GI law even though the last executive order in this regard was issued two years back when Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was the prime minister.
But even after formulation of the law, it has not yet been promulgated. This leaves Pakistan not legally competent to file a challenge against the Indian claim.
The Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) Agreement is clear on this issue. Unless a country has extended protection to GI in its territories, it cannot claim similar protection elsewhere.
The EU GI law allows a three-month period to Pakistan to file the objection from the date of announcement, i.e. 9/11 this year. Within this period that expires on 11 December 2020, Pakistan will have to enforce its own GI law, and then fulfill all legal requirements for filing the objection.
India has based its claim on various dictionaries such as Oxford Dictionary which defines basmati as ‘a kind of long-grain Indian rice with a delicate fragrance’, the French dictionary, Larousse, which defines basmati as an ‘Indian, long grain rice, very appreciated’ and the Cassell food dictionary which defines it as ‘a superior type of Indian white rice which is long grained and slender’.
In its claim, India has pointed out that basmati is grown and produced in all districts of the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, as well as in specific districts of western Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
It has not mentioned at all that Basmati is also grown in Pakistan.
