By Aftab Maken
Pakistan and India will hold a meeting of a joint working group, for the
first time since its formation nearly two years ago, to discuss the issues
pertaining to joint registration of Basmati rice as Geographical Indication
(GI).
A team of experts from both sides would consider whether the joint
registration was feasible or not in talks to be held in New Delhi, the
Indian capital, on April 15-16, official sources told The News on Saturday.

Islamabad and New Delhi had agreed in composite dialogue in June 2006
to set up a joint working group for looking into various aspects of joint
registration of Basmati. The working group would deliberate on the issue as
the European Union had put a condition that it would not accept separate
registration of Basmati and consider it as an inherited product of both
Pakistan and India, said an official, who was part of the negotiating team
from Pakistan.

Under the World Trade Organisation?s geographical indication law,
property rights will be given to a member country where any product or item
is produced or manufactured traditionally. No other country can claim the
rights over such products.

India had included Basmati in the list of exportable commodities in
May 2006 but 80 per cent of Basmati rice exported to the EU and Gulf markets
was not original, said an official dealing with Trade-related Intellectual
Property (TRIP) laws in the commerce ministry.

Pakistan has also notified DNA test of Super Basmati, which proves
that its characteristics match with those of the already notified variety in
the Gazette of Pakistan on January 1, 1998.

The row between India and Pakistan over registration of Basmati rice
started when Delhi claimed to have developed a ?Super? Basmati variety in
Kharif 2003 season under the Exports Inspection Certification Act.

After the Indian claim, Pakistan decided to carry out DNA test of the
variety at the National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering
(NIBGE), Faisalabad, which matched the characteristics of the variety
already registered under the Seed Act 1976 on January 1, 1998.

Super is originally grown in Pakistan as a cross between traditional
pure line Basmati cultivars and modern dwarf rice lines. Super Basmati has
always had an edge over Indian Pusa Basmati-1 in the international market.
Pakistan fears if India starts exporting the same rice, it could lose up to
40 per cent of the world market.

Super Basmati is globally recognised as Pakistan?s rice variety and
very well accepted with exports of over 800,000 tonnes. This rice variety
gives a high yield and earns a lot due to its superior quality. According to
an estimate, annual rice exports from India and Pakistan fetch around $2.5
billion.
[www.thenews.com.pk]