Basmati Rice

Subject – Agriculture

Context – India may get exclusive rights to sell Basmati in EU

Concept –

It is one of the best known varieties of rice all across the globe.
It is long grain rice which has its origin from India and some parts of Pakistan.
Basmati rice has a unique fragrance and flavour caused due to the presence of a chemical called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline.
This chemical is found in basmati rice at about 90 parts per million (ppm) which is 12 times more than non-basmati rice varieties.
Basmati rice needs specific climatic conditions to grow which is why it is cultivated in selected regions of India.

Basmati vs Non-Basmati Rice

Basmati is long grain The non-basmati rice comes in all different shapes and sizes – long, slender, short and thick, bead and round.
Basmati has a characteristic fragrance and flavor while non-basmati varieties, do not have an aroma.
Basmati is also available in white and brown versions depending on the extent of the milling process. Like wine and cheese, the older basmati gets the better its flavor and aroma. Hence the aged Basmati costs higher than the recent productions.
Basmati rice becomes almost double its size on cooking. Such a significant increase in size cannot be seen in non-basmati varieties. This makes basmati variety one of the highly demanded rice in the world.
Yield of Basmati rice from the agricultural land is almost half the non-basmati varieties. This is also one of the reasons for Basmati’s higher costs.

Production of Basmati Rice in India

India is the largest producer of Basmati rice with about 70 per cent share in global production.
Basmati rice constitutes one of India’s significant exports both in terms of soft power and hard money.
It is cultivated in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and western Uttar Pradesh.
In May 2010, GI status was given to basmati grown only in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
Major chunk of India’s basmati rice is exported to Gulf countries viz. Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Kuwait.

In News –

India will likely walk away with the sole right to the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Basmati rice in the European Union (EU) after the deadline for settling the issue with Pakistan expired on September 10.
It will give New Delhi exclusive rights to market the fragrant rice in the EU as “Basmati” rice and deter other countries, mainly Pakistan, from selling the food grain as “Basmati”.
Pakistan opposed giving exclusive rights to India, contending that its farmers are also growing the variety. The Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan filed its objection to giving exclusive rights to India for selling Basmati in the EU.

GI Tag

It is an insignia on products having a unique geographical origin and evolution over centuries with regard to its special quality or reputed attributes.
It is a mark of authenticity and ensures that registered authorized users or at least those residing inside the geographic territory are allowed to use the popular product names.
GI tag in India is governed by Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999. It is issued by the Geographical Indications Registry (Chennai).
Benefits of GI Tag
- It provides legal protection to Indian Geographical Indications thus preventing unauthorized use of the registered GIs by others.
- It promotes economic prosperity of producers of goods produced in a geographical territory.
- The GI protection in India leads to recognition of the product in other countries thus boosting exports.