Ownership, trademark rights of Basmati rice: New Zealand High Court rejects India’s plea

KARACHI: In a major boost for the rice export sector, Pakistan has secured a significant legal victory over India, which lost the case in the New Zealand High Court concerning the ownership and trademark rights of Basmati rice.

Industry sources said that the New Zealand High Court has also dismissed an appeal filed by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) against the rejection of its application for a certification trade mark for Indian basmati.

The Indian food export authority attempted to register Basmati as a certification mark in New Zealand, which would have restricted the sale of Basmati rice in New Zealand exclusively to Indian-grown rice.

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Six years back, in February 2019, APEDA approached the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) for certification mark protection for basmati Rice solely to India. However, this application was rejected by the IPONZ in July 2024.

Following the rejection, Indian Authority appealed to the High Court of New Zealand for the ownership and trademark rights of Basmati rice. Now, the High Court of New Zealand has now upheld the IPONZ decision, ruling that New Zealand consumers do not exclusively associate Basmati with Indian rice.

The New Zealand High Court has upheld the IPONZ ruling, observing that the Basmati Growing Area covers regions in both Pakistan and India. The court said giving India exclusive certification would place Pakistani basmati producers at an unfair disadvantage and limit their ability to sell in the New Zealand market.

Instead, New Zealanders view Basmati as a descriptor of a particular type of rice rather than a geographical indicator tied solely to India. Granting APEDA exclusive rights would have unfairly excluded Pakistani producers from the New Zealand market.

Rafique Suleman, former chairman of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and a senior member of the Businessmen Panel (BMP) at the FPCCI, welcomed the ruling and said the New Zealand High Court decided the matter on merit.

He said India has repeatedly tried to mislead international markets on basmati rice, but Pakistan’s position has now been reaffirmed.

This is a significant achievement for the Government of Pakistan and the Ministry of Commerce. The Geographical Indications (GI) Cell of the Commerce Ministry continues to actively contest Basmati-related GI matters in both Australia and New Zealand, he added.

He said that the Court Order repeatedly recognises Pakistan as a legitimate grower of Basmati rice and this acknowledgment will further strengthen Pakistan’s position in other international jurisdictions where APEDA has filed similar claims and Pakistan is defending the matter.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025