World News for Students of English

02-10-2026 15:00

Basmati is a very expensive type of rice from the Punjab region, but this region is divided between India and Pakistan.

Both countries want to protect the name Basmati in the EU to earn more money. If a name gets protection, other countries cannot use it. India asked the EU for special protection in 2018, and Pakistan asked in 2023. But the two countries don’t talk to each other, so they can’t make a shared decision.

Other places, like Cyprus with Halloumi cheese, worked together with the EU to protect their product. But because India and Pakistan are not talking, almost 90% of Basmati rice sold around the world is not real. If the EU doesn’t act soon, the name Basmati might lose its special value completely.

Difficult words: protection (legal rules which stop other people from stealing, copying, or harming a product or brand), shared (something that is used, owned, or done by two or more people or countries together), value (how important something is or how much money it costs).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.