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Informist, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025

 

MUMBAI – The New Zealand High Court dismissed India's appeal for exclusive trademark rights and ownership of basmati rice, claiming that consumers in New Zealand do not exclusively associate basmati with Indian rice. Thus, giving India an exclusive certification would put Pakistan basmati producers at a disadvantage and limit their ability to sell in New Zealand markets, as basmati is grown in both Pakistan and India, according to Indian Rice Exporters' Federation.

 

This verdict will provide a major boost to Pakistan's rice export sector, it said. The conflict over basmati rice between the two countries had been under the jurisdiction of the New Zealand High Court. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, the statutory body for Indian food exports in 2019 had approached the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand for basmati rice trademark solely to India. However, this application was rejected by Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand in July 2024. The Indian food export authority tried 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, according to the association.

 

Further, New Zealand basmati trademark verdict views 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, the association said. End

 

Reported by Taniva Singha Roy

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

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