Pakistan has won an important legal victory over India in the long-running Basmati rice dispute. The Federal Court of Australia dismissed an appeal filed by India’s Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). The court also ordered APEDA to pay the legal costs of the case.
India had tried to register the word “Basmati” as its exclusive certification trademark for rice in Australia. The Australian Registrar of Trade Marks first rejected this application in December 2022. The registrar said the name Basmati cannot belong to only one country because the rice is also grown and sold by Pakistani producers.
APEDA challenged that decision in the Federal Court. On 12-13 August 2026, the court dismissed the appeal and upheld the earlier ruling. Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce welcomed the outcome and called it a significant victory.
The ministry said Basmati is a geographical indication linked to a historic growing region that covers parts of both Pakistan and India. No single country can claim exclusive rights over the name and stop other legitimate producers from using it.
This decision protects Pakistani farmers, millers and exporters. They can continue selling authentic Pakistani Basmati rice in the Australian market without legal barriers. The ruling strengthens Pakistan’s long-standing position that Basmati is a shared heritage of the region, not the property of one nation.