India has filed an appeal with the European Court of Justice following the European Union’s refusal to grant access to the Annexures accompanying Pakistan’s application for Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, The News reported citing an Indian news outlet.
The EU claimed such access would undermine its international relations with Islamabad.
On March 27, the lawyer of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) filed the ‘confirmatory application’ and the EU rejected it on July 1, details available now show. Following this, APEDA has now gone to the European Court of Justice.
According to the report, India has asked for the documents submitted by Pakistan, which prove the origin of basmati in the claimed areas. The documents are part of the annexures.
Experts say the EU has pointed to its regulation 1049/2001 which gives it the power to refuse to provide details on grounds of commercial interests of a natural or legal person, including intellectual property.
India and Pakistan are the leading exporters of basmati rice, famous for its aroma, to countries such as Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
Rice exports in FY2023-24 reached a record high, with a significant jump of 62 per cent in volume and 83% in value (in dollars) compared to the previous year.
According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, rice exports increased to 6 million tonnes from 3.72 tonnes in volume, and to $3.93 billion from $2.15 billion in value.
This growth is primarily attributed to a surge in domestic rice production, which hit an all-time high of 9.9 million metric tonnes (MMT).
Some industry players from REAP (Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan) have attributed this growth to the ‘Indian factor’ where India imposed an export ban on coarse-milled white rice and a 20 per cent export tariff on par-boiled.
The Indian government was exporting rice through G2G at premium prices but restricted the private sector from coarse rice exports to keep their domestic rice prices lower to win elections.
Pakistan has established a sizeable global market share due to its better quality of rice at affordable prices.
