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Informist, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025

 

By Pallavi Singhal

 

NEW DELHI – India's efforts to secure trademark protection for its rice exports suffered a setback this month after courts in New Zealand and Kenya dismissed appeals seeking the sole right to use the term "basmati" in those countries. But industry executives and exporters say the rulings are unlikely to affect India's basmati rice exports, though they give Pakistan a temporary edge in two important markets.

 

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority had filed an application in New Zealand in 2019, seeking to register "basmati" as a certification mark tied to rice grown in India. The country's high court recently upheld the position of the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand, which had rejected APEDA's application in July 2024.

 

The court said consumers in New Zealand do not associate basmati exclusively with Indian rice and granting India a certification mark would disadvantage Pakistan, which also grows and exports the rice. It ruled that basmati is viewed as a descriptor of a particular type of long-grain aromatic rice, not as a geographical indicator.

 

"India and Pakistan are the only two countries that produce basmati," said Dev Garg, vice-president of the Indian Rice Exporters' Federation. "Pakistan has been selling rice varieties from non-notified regions and terming them basmati as well. APEDA objected to this, but the objection has been rejected for now. The fight will continue."

 

APEDA will be going in appeal against the order in the New Zeland Supreme Court, Garg said. New Zealand ranks 40th among basmati export destinations for India. The Pacific Ocean archipelago imports rice worth around INR 1.05 billion annually, Garg said. Though the volume is modest, exporters consider the country an important premium retail market, he added.

 

India faces a similar hurdle in Kenya, where a private party recently succeeded in registering a basmati label. APEDA challenged the registration, but the case was dismissed on technical grounds, according to Garg. Here, too, APEDA plans to go in appeal to the Kenyan Supreme Court, he said.

 

Kenya is a far more significant market for Indian basmati, ranking 22nd and importing rice worth around INR 5 billion annually. India has identified Kenya as a strategic market with potential to expand basmati rice shipments in the long run. India exported more than 6 million tonnes of basmati rice in the financial year 2024-25 (Apr-Mar).

 

The tussle over the right to use the term "basmati" is not new. India and Pakistan have contested branding and geographical recognition in various jurisdictions for nearly three decades now. Indian exporters argue that basmati has historically been associated with traditional growing regions in the Indo-Gangetic plains. Pakistan asserts legitimate co-ownership of the heritage crop.

 

Despite the recent legal setbacks, industry executives say the rulings are unlikely to dent India's global basmati exports. "This is not the first time India has faced such challenges," Garg said. "APEDA has been fighting these cases for 30 years, and India has consistently protected the interests of its farmers. Past rulings have not affected exports, and we do not expect these decisions to hurt India's shipments either."

 

India's appeals in New Zealand and Kenya are expected to take several months to be heard. In the interim, exporters expect trade flows to remain broadly unchanged.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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