Basmati rice declared Pakistani product instead of Indian

In a major positive development for Pakistan in the domain of trade and commerce, Australia and New Zealand have acknowledged and declared valuable long-grain basmati rice a "Pakistani product".

The development comes as New Delhi has been pushing for basmati rice to be granted protected status in global markets as a uniquely Indian product — a move met with vehement opposition from Pakistan, which claims the rice is part of a shared heritage between the two countries.

India, in December 2024, approached the European Court of Justice after the European Union rejected India's application to access the Annexures attached to Pakistan's application for protected Geographical Indication (PGI).

Despite the commodity's growing demand in the United States and Europe, as reported by The Washington Post, its origins have never been more divisive or its future more uncertain.

Basmati rice is deeply rooted in the Punjab region, which today is divided between Pakistan and India. Early forms may have been cultivated here as long as 2,000 years ago, archaeologists have found; written references to the rice appear as early as the 16th century when the Mughal Empire ruled over much of the Indian subcontinent.

From the start, India and Pakistan quarrelled over who had the best basmati, and who had rightful claim to the name. In the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war, Pakistani farmers claimed that Indian soldiers had stolen their seeds.

New Delhi's global efforts to enshrine its ownership of basmati have largely stalled.

While an Indian case in the EU is pending, Australia and New Zealand have rejected similar legal claims.