Joint registration of Basmati rice with India condemned

Basmati Growers Association (BGA) has condemned the plans of Rice Exporter Association of Pakistan (Reap) for joint registration of Basmati and joint international marketing with India as stated in a news report appearing in Indian press.
President BGA, Hamid Malhi while commenting on the news here on Friday, said after one year of deliberations and deep thinking among all the concerned stakeholders, it was finally decided to challenge the notification of the Ministry of Commerce of India dated 24th May 2006, which approved super Basmati as an exportable item from India.
Notices to the Indian government are being prepared to cancel the notification of 24th May 2006, which is a clear infringement of the Intellectual Property Rights of the Basmati growers of Pakistan, he added.
He said that BGA strongly felt that the act of Reap was bound to undermine the efforts of the government and Basmati growers. While in Pakistan Reap has opposed the application for the registration of Basmati as a geographical indication, which was filed by BGA in December 2005 with the trademark registered at Karachi but it is strange that Reap is willing to join hands with India on similar issues, he added.
Farooq Bajwa maintained that BGA also informed the Indian government and Airea that all efforts to undermine the interests of the Basmati growers of Pakistan should be dealt according to international laws and BGA reserves the right to challenge any such act or agreement accordingly.
Muhammad Amin Chatta said that Basmati is our comparative advantage and Basmati growers will not share this trade advantage with any other country. Basmati has yet to be defined in India and they sell all aromatic rice as Basmati, this flaw, which deceives the international consumer is bound to be further revealed by the efforts of BGA, he said.
He said that Basmati growers were fully aware that their Basmati was sold in Indian packing claiming it to be of Indian origin. Joining the Indians in marketing of Basmati is disastrous not only to trade but also to the Basmati growers who are the major stakeholders, he added.
The BGA appealed to the President Pervez Musharraf and Federal Minister of Commerce, Humayun Akhtar Khan to grant permission to BGA to file a separate petition in Delhi for the cancellation of the notification in question.