Pakistan receives Geographical Indication tag for basmati rice

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for its Basmati rice.

“I am glad to inform that Pakistan has registered Basmati Rice as Geographical Indication (GI) under Geographical Indications Act 2020. Under this Act, a GI registry has been formed which will register GIs and maintain the basic record of proprietors & authorised users of GI,” Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood announced in a Twitter post.

He added, “This will provide protection to our products against misuse or imitation, hence, will guarantee that their share in the international market is protected.”

This will provide protection of our products against misuse or imitation & hence will guarantee that their share in int’l market is protected. I encourage you to send your suggestions of products that can be registered as GIs to Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan. 2/2

— Abdul Razak Dawood (@razak_dawood) January 27, 2021

The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), designated as a registrant of Basmati rice by the federal government, made an application for registering Basmati to the Intellectual Property Organisation (IPO).

The GI tag for Pakistan’s basmati rice will strengthen the country’s case against India in the European Union (EU) and other world markets for its protection as a Pakistani product.

India had tried to block Pakistan’s trade in the EU by claiming that basmati rice grown in the neighbouring country is the geographically original one. Pakistan challenged this claim and after receiving the GI tag for basmati, the country will call for the same protection of this particular strain of rice as India.