India, Pak to mount joint defence on basmati rice

Islamabad, Nov 8 (PTI) India and Pakistan Saturday
decided to mount a joint defence to prevent the unauthorised
use of basmati rice, a common heritage of the two countries.

At the conclusion of two-day talks here on registering
the "Geographical Indication" (G.I.) of basmati rice in the
U.S. and Europe to prevent the product from being copied by
other countries, the two sides said they had ironed out a
"number of differences".

"The talks were aimed at arriving at an agreed definition
of basmati rice, which is a common heritage. Both sides shared
information on standards and on delimitation of basmati
growing areas," said an official statement issued by the
Pakistan government.

"It was also agreed to share information on third party
infringement and to mount a joint defence to (prevent) the
unauthorised use of basmati," it said.

The two sides "hoped to achieve further uniformity of
views" in the next round of talks of the Joint Working Group
(J.W.G.) on registering basmati rice, which will be held in
New Delhi in the first quarter of next year.

Dinesh Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Department of
Commerce, headed the Indian team while the Pakistani
delegation was led by Joint Secretary (Exports) Azhar Ali
Chaudhri of the commerce ministry.

This was the second meeting of the J.W.G. The group first
met in New Delhi in April.

India and Pakistan plan to jointly register the G.I. of
basmati rice under the Geographical Indications of Goods
(Registration and Protection) Act.

G.I. is given to products with a reputation attributable
to their place of origin or the area where they are
manufactured or grown. It is highlighted during marketing to
fetch a higher value.

The two countries started consultations several years ago
to prepare a common strategy to register basmati. They were
also involved in a row over basmati after Pakistan objected to
India's efforts to market a variety known as "super basmati"
some years ago.

Basmati rice is primarily grown in India and Pakistan and
the Himalayan foothills are said to produce the best variety.

RiceTec, a US-based company, was granted a controversial
patent in September 1997 on basmati rice grains and lines,
much to the disadvantage of India and Pakistan. However, India
challenged this patent and the company was forced to withdraw
its claim.