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Oh no EU don’t: India’s basmati rice claim leaves Pakistan steaming with rage
- India has asked the European Union to grant it a label that ties the origin of basmati exclusively to its regions
- Pakistan, where the long-grain rice is also grown, has slammed the move as it vies for a share of the multibillion-dollar export sector
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Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan have a new ingredient in their long-simmering rivalry: basmati rice.
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India has asked the European Union (EU) to recognise the fragrant, long-grain staple as originating in seven Indian states and territories, which would give its producers exclusive rights to the basmati label in the lucrative European market.
Pakistan rejects India’s claim, arguing that its farmers grow basmati rice too, and is expected to file a formal objection with the EU by its December 10 deadline.
The tussle is just one of the many disputes entangling India and Pakistan, which were partitioned upon independence from Britain in 1947 and have fought three wars since.
At stake is not only a major export industry but also bragging rights over a mainstay of South Asian cooking – whether layered with onions and spices in hearty biryanis or fluffed with vegetables in delicate pulaos.
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India’s 2018 application, which was published in an EU journal in September, asked the bloc to grant “geographical indication” (GI) status to its basmati rice. This would tag the product as inextricably connected to its place of origin – similar to Champagne from France, potatoes from Idaho, or Kalamata olives from Greece.
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