In a representation to the Earl of Lichtenstein who is also President of Rice-tec on September 24, Gene Campaign, Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) in Canada, Berne declaration from Switzerland and Lichtenstein Society for Environmental Protection have demanded that Rice-tec should voluntarily recall the patent on basmati rice and stop using the name `basmati' for any of their products.

There is concrete evidence that Rice-tec used genetic material from a gene bank of the consultative group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) where India deposited its material in trust, Gene Campaign Convenor Suman Sahai said in a statement here.

Sahai said India should use this evidenceto challenge the patent, or else the country would stand to lose the international basmati market valued today at Rs 6,000 crores.

The source of the Rice-tec basmati is the gene bank at Fort Collins in the US which has acquired duplicate samples of the rice varieties banked at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, according to Sahai.

Initial results of a genetic study commissioned by RAFI of Canada show that the Rice-tec basmati is merely a mixture of characters contained in traditional Indian and Pakistani basmati varieties.