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Attention: Retail chains and private labels, rice importers and distributors, HORECA, ready-meal producers
Jasmine rice, known in international trade as “jasmine rice” and in Thailand as “Khao Hom Mali”, has been present on European store shelves for years. Besides Thailand, other Asian countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia also export it. The question arises, however, will the name “jasmine rice” soon be reserved exclusively for Thai products?
On 26 August 2025, the EU Official Journal published: “INFORMATION NOTICE – PUBLIC CONSULTATION. Geographical indications of products from Thailand.”
As part of negotiations on the EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement, Thai authorities submitted a list of 94 geographical indications to be protected in the EU, including several variants of “Khao Hom Mali” rice.
The European Commission has invited Member States and all interested parties to lodge objections – within two months of publication – if they believe that:
the name has become generic,
it could mislead consumers,
it is homonymous or conflicts with a trademark,
it threatens existing use of the name on the EU market.
In the EU, “jasmine rice” is regarded as the name of a rice variety, not a geographical indication. Moreover, importers from Vietnam or Cambodia fear losing the right to use a widely recognised name. The designation “Thai Hom Mali Rice” is already protected in the EU. However, Thailand now seeks to extend protection, raising questions of a potential legal monopoly.
Granting Thailand the exclusive right to use the name “Hom Mali” could radically reshape the EU rice market – restricting trade freedom, affecting labelling, and potentially leading to legal disputes between importers.
The consultation process is precisely meant to allow objections from all stakeholders – not only governments or industry organisations, but also individual companies. Filing a (well-reasoned) objection carries real weight in the decision-making process, while failure to act could result in full protection being granted to Thailand.
Therefore, businesses – directly, through trade associations, or by encouraging national administrations to intervene – should actively participate in such consultations.
