From biryani to pulau, the common culinary landscape of Pakistan and India is defined by basmati, characteristic long-grain rice that is now at the center of the newest feud between the longtime foes.

India has sought an entirely separate trademark that would give them sole control of the basmati brand in the European Union, igniting a fight that may be devastating to Pakistan's standing in a critical export market.

"It's like putting an atomic bomb on us," Ghulam Murtaza, co-owner of Al-Barkat Rice Mills south of Lahore, Pakistan's second-largest city, said.

Pakistan strongly objected to India's request for a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) from the European Commission.

As per UN estimates, India is the world's largest rice exporter, earning $6.8 billion per year, with Pakistan ranking in fourth at $2.2 billion.

According to AFP, the two nations have been the only world suppliers of basmati.

"(India) has manufactured all this uproar out there so that they can eventually acquire one of our target markets," Murtaza, whose crops are within five kilometers (three miles) from the Indian border, explained.

"Our entire rice industry is in jeopardy," he continued.

Basmati is a staple in common meals across southern Asia, from Karachi to Kolkata.

It is served with spicy meat and vegetable curries, and it is the highlight of the constantly diverse biryani meals served at weddings and festivals in both countries, which always separated from the British colonial authority in 1947.

Extremely important Market

Throughout the last three years, Pakistan has increased basmati shipments to the EU, capitalizing on India's troubles satisfying higher European pesticide regulations.

As per the European Commission, now it meets two-thirds of the continent's yearly demand of around 300,000 tonnes.

"This is a very significant market for all of us," says Malik Faisal Jahangir, vice-president of the Pakistan Rice Exporters Association, asserting that Pakistani basmati is more organic and "superior in quality."

PGI title confers intellectual property rights to items associated with a geographic region in which at least one stage of manufacturing, processing, or preparation occurs. Popular items having PGI certification include Indian Darjeeling tea, Colombian coffee, and many French hams.

It varies from Protected Designation of Origin, which needs all three phases to happen in the concerned area, like in the case of cheeses such as French brie or Italian gorgonzola.

In nations that have signed the agreement, such commodities are legally protected against duplication and misuse, and a quality identification stamp permits them to sell for higher costs.

India claims in its petition that it did not claim to be the exclusive producer of the unique rice growing in the Himalayan foothills, but obtaining PGI classification would still provide it this prominence.

"For nearly 40 years, India and Pakistan have been exporting and healthily battling in diverse markets... It is not likely to alter as an outcome of the PGI, "According to Vijay Setia, former president of the Indian Rice Exporters Association.

A shared heritage

According to EU regulations, the two nations must try to reach an agreement by September after India requested a three-month extension, as per a European Commission spokesman. "Historically, both brand image and geographical region (for basmati) are shared by India and Pakistan," legal researcher Delphine Marie-Vivien explains.

"There have previously been several situations in Europe where geographical indication proposals were being opposed, and each time a solution has been struck."

After years of delay, the Pakistani government finally delineated where basmati can be harvested throughout the country in January.

It also stated that pink Himalayan salt and other prized agricultural goods would be assigned similarly protected status.

As per Jahangir, Pakistan intends to persuade India to make a "combined application" in the interests of the common history that basmati symbolizes.

"I firmly believe we will achieve a (good) judgment soon. The world understands that basmati is produced in both nations," he added.

If a deal cannot be struck and the EU finds it in India's favor, Pakistan may file an appeal in European courts, but the lengthy review process may put the country's rice sector in jeopardy.