Now Basmati, long-grain rice, at the centre of tussle between India & Pakistan

"It's like dropping an atomic bomb on us," said Ghulam Murtaza, co-owner of Al-Barkat Rice Mills just south of Lahore, Pakistan's second-largest city. Pakistan immediately opposed India's move to gain Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) from the European Commission. India is the largest rice exporter in the world, netting $6.8 billion in annual earnings, with Pakistan in fourth position at $2.2 billion, according to UN figures. The two countries are the only global exporters of basmati.

"(India) has caused all this fuss over there so they can somehow grab one of our target markets," said Murtaza, whose fields are barely five kilometres (three miles) from the Indian border. "Our whole rice industry is affected," he added. From Karachi to Kolkata, basmati is a staple in everyday diets across southern Asia. It is eaten alongside spicy meat and vegetable curries, and is the star of the endlessly varied biryani dishes featured at weddings and celebrations across both countries, which only split following independence from British colonial rule in 1947.

Pakistan has expanded basmati exports to the EU over the past three years, taking advantage of India's difficulties meeting stricter European pesticide standards. It now fills two-thirds of the region's approximately 300,000-ton annual demand, according to the European Commission. "For us, this is a very, very important market," says Malik Faisal Jahangir, vice-president of the Pakistan Rice Exporters Association, who claims Pakistani basmati is more organic and "better in quality". PGI status grants intellectual property rights for products linked to a geographic area where at least one stage of production, processing, or preparation takes place.

As per EU rules, the two countries must try to negotiate an amicable resolution by September, after India asked for a three-month extension, a spokesman for the European Commission told AFP. "Historically, both the reputation and geographic area (for basmati) are common to India and Pakistan," says legal researcher Delphine Marie-Vivien. "There have already been quite a few cases of opposition to geographical indication applications in Europe, and each time a compromise has been found." Pakistan hopes to convince India to instead submit a "joint application" in the name of the common heritage that basmati represents, Jahangir said.