15 Dec 2025
Karachi: Pakistan has secured a significant legal victory in an international dispute over the ownership and trademark rights of Basmati rice, after the New Zealand High Court dismissed India’s appeal seeking exclusive certification rights for the premium grain.
The court rejected an appeal filed by India’s Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) against an earlier decision by the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ), which had refused APEDA’s application to register “Basmati” as a certification trademark restricted solely to Indian-grown rice.
APEDA first approached IPONZ in February 2019, seeking certification mark protection that would have limited the use of the term “Basmati” in New Zealand to rice originating only from India. IPONZ rejected the application in July 2024, prompting APEDA to challenge the decision in the New Zealand High Court.
Upholding the IPONZ ruling, the High Court found that New Zealand consumers do not associate Basmati rice exclusively with India. The court observed that the Basmati-growing region spans areas in both Pakistan and India, and granting exclusive certification rights to India would unfairly disadvantage Pakistani producers and restrict their access to the New Zealand market.
The court further noted that, in New Zealand, Basmati is commonly understood as a descriptor of a specific rice variety, rather than a geographical indication linked solely to India. Granting exclusive rights to APEDA, the court said, would unjustly exclude legitimate Pakistani producers.
Welcoming the verdict, Rafique Suleman, former chairman of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and a senior member of the Businessmen Panel (BMP) at the FPCCI, said the decision was based on merit and reaffirmed Pakistan’s longstanding position.
He added that the ruling represents a major success for the Government of Pakistan and the Ministry of Commerce, noting that the ministry’s Geographical Indications (GI) Cell continues to actively contest Basmati-related GI claims in international jurisdictions, including Australia and New Zealand.
According to Suleman, the High Court order explicitly recognises Pakistan as a legitimate producer of Basmati rice, a finding that is expected to strengthen Pakistan’s case in other countries where similar claims by APEDA are being challenged.