Miniket, a variety of rice or a brand?

Almost 90 per cent of the population of Bangladesh consume rice as their staple food.  Mostly available and consumed rice varieties of Bangladesh in recent time are Basmati, Kalijira, Miniket, BINA, BRRI, IRRI, Balam etc. Rice provides major portion of daily caloric requirement. In the recent time, a debate has been surfaced whether Miniket is a variety of rice produced in Bangladesh. In fact, it is a polished version of coarse rice like BRRI-28, BRRI-29 and BR-23. It has been considered a branding of an agricultural product. The question arises whether rice can be branded under any other name.

The total rice production of Bangladesh is mostly dependent on the mega varieties like BRRI dhan28, BRRI dhan29 and BR11. A certain percentage like 6-8 per cent is coming from hybrid rice varieties. These rice varieties are not fine or so-called premium type. In fact, all these coarse rices have to undergo over polishing to change their shape and size. The coarse rice is polished to slender and tasty rice. When the coarse rice is polished to a slim looking one, it is supposed to lose the majority of the essential elements mentioned above and fibre essential for the human nutrition and development.

Miniket is now a popular brand name of a kind of slender and glossy husked rice is available everywhere in Bangladesh. It is a popular notion that the brand of rice Miniket comes from the milling of a rice variety cultivated in the same name although there was no registered variety nor a local race (Deshi jat) one is available in
Bangladesh.

The name most probably derived from a synthesised dialect from the words mini (small) and kit (a set of supplies for a specific purpose). It is a parboiled rice, quite famous and staple rice in Bangladesh. This rice variety is totally white in color, thin, and long in size with a little bit of round lower edge and pointy head. Miniket rice developed by traders through over polish coarse rice like BRRI-28, BRRI-29 and BR-23. Such polishing destroys the nutritional values of rice.

The byproduct of rice powder what they are getting after polishing is used as animal feed. The millers are selling Miniket at higher price also sell residue rice powder as poultry feed. The millers are driven by the test and choice of Bangladesh consumers as they now like shiny, white and tasty rice. The consumers in Bangladesh once satisfied with the coarse rice having higher nutritional value. Interestingly in contrast, the highest-priced large-volume world market is for the traditional high quality indica, long-grain, raw milled rice. This market handles about one fourth of all export-traded rice and generates an even higher percentage of income because of lucrative prices.

The complete milling and polishing that converts brown rice into white rice destroys 67  per cent of the vitamin B3, 80  per cent of the vitamin B1, 90  per cent of the vitamin B6, 50  per cent of the manganese and phosphorus, 60 per cent of the iron and all of the dietary fibre and essential fatty acids. Fibre has been involved in the prevention of major diseases such as gastrointestinal and heart diseases. The essential oils in the bran have also been found to prevent heart diseases because these decrease serum cholesterol, which is a major risk factor in heart disease. The polished rice is exclusively inferior to the unpolished one in terms of nutrition. They do not have the brown coat. The millers are trying to satisfy their consumers. These traders enjoy higher value addition and present the Miniket variety with the marketing mix, such as pricing, distribution, and branding etc.

The food value chains are being transformed worldwide, given changing consumption patterns and the increasing insistence on food quality and safety (World Bank 2007). In a recent study, it has been found that in last three decades, an important change in quality, as measured through differential varietal choices, in the rice market of Dhaka, in particular, an important decline of the less expensive coarse rice. The study further finds a doubling of the premium paid for the fine rice over the past three decades. It thus seems that the role of rice as only a cheap staple food is being redefined and consumers are ready pay more for their choices. In few decade consumers are now paying doubling of the premium paid for the fine rice over the past three decades. It thus seems that the role of rice as only a cheap staple food is being redefined, even in these poor settings.

In another study, the most widespread distinction found in the rice sector in Bangladesh relates to the shape and size of the kernel. The coarser the grain, the wider or fatter it is (relative to the length). Coarse rice grains used in Bangladesh have a width of more than 2 millimeters. This compares with 1.7 to 2.0 millimeters for medium rice and less than 1.7 millimeters for fine rice. The attributes that define the quality of rice most preferred by consumers are physical appearance, transparency, milling, degree of processing (whiteness), percent of brokenness, aroma, texture, and nutritional quality, these are often difficult to measure objectively. The attributes least preferred by consumers were price, impurities (presence of foreign matter) and the source of rice.

Rice is an agricultural products and different grade of rice are recorded with the agricultural department. There is no brand or trade registration of any grade of rice. Rice brands are Geographical Indication (GI) product and belong to people of a region or country under community ownership. One individual person or company cannot patent or register rice as GI product.

There is an exceptional case with Basmati rich. Basmati is a rice variety of South Asia and mostly cultivated in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and also in Thailand. But one American firm Rice-tech has got Basmati registered with the United States Patent office as its own product under the trade mark, Jasmati and Kasmati. The government of Pakistan raised the issue in the US Court and claimed that Basmatiis a GI product and cannot be patented in favor of any company. The committee to plead Pakistan's case is headed by Federal Secretary of Agriculture Dr. Zafar Altaf, Dr. Mohd. Akbar of National Agriculture Research Center, and Dr. Abdul Majid former Director, Rice Research Institute. Finally, US government withdrown the patent of Basmatiissued in favor of Rice-tech.

It may be mentioned here that USA does not have any Geographical Indication law. Bangladesh passed the Geographical Indications of goods (registration and protection) act 2013. Rice is considered as GI product and any variety of rice only be registered as GI products under community ownership or agricultural department of the government. Miniket may be branded for marketing by any company but cannot claim this as local variety of rich. It cannot be registered under patent act. The fate of Miniket is depends upon teste and demand of the consumers. 

The writer is a legal economist