ISLAMABAD-Pakistan has decided to register pink salt from the Salt Range Mountains of the country as Geographical Indications (GI) after registering Basmati rice.
“In order to curb unauthorised use of Pakistan’s Geographical Indications (GI) by other countries, a meeting was held at Ministry of Commerce (MOC) with the IPO Pakistan. The GI registration of products from various regions of Pakistan was discussed. We decided that, after registration of rice, the pink salt from the Salt Range Mountains of Pakistan will be registered as GI. This will encourage & motivate our producers to expand their business at global level,” said Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood on twitter on Thursday.
Similarly, he said, a list of other products on a priority basis will be pursued. “We urge our business community to identify & inform IPO of other products that can be registered as GI in order to protect them for realising their export potential,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ministry of commerce said that a meeting was chaired by the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood to discuss issues pertaining to registration of Geographical Indications (GI) on priority basis. The meeting was attended by Secretary Commerce and Chairman Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan (IPO).
The advisor was informed that, after the registration of rice, now the Pink Rock Salt will be registered on fast-track. For this, a registrant would be designated with approval of the Federal Cabinet. Dawood expressed his ratification at the progress made and reiterated the importance of the registration of various products as GIs. He said that the registration of GI products will serve as a potential economic tool to promote and enhance national and international trade of Pakistan. Speedy registration will protect GIs of Pakistan and eradicate the possibility of violation of GI products. He advised the Ministry of Commerce to double its efforts for registration of potential products as GI on priority basis.
Pakistan had recently registered Basmati Rice as Geographical Indication (GI) under Geographical Indications Act 2020. Under this Act, a GI registry has been formed which will register GIs and maintain the basic record of proprietors & authorised users of GI. This would pave the way for creating a local registry for this particular strain of rice and making a case in the world markets for its protection as a Pakistani product.
This was the first Pakistani product which has been registered under the GI tag and we can now claim and market our products in global markets. “This will provide protection of our products against misuse or imitation & hence will guarantee that their share in int’l market is protected,” Razak said in last month. According to the reports, Pakistan had managed to save approximately $1 billion in export revenue, which the country gets through export of Basmati rice to the European Union.