home - made Goan wine is my favourite... that's what locals should make more
of... Ramanjit
Goanet News <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Goa's own Feni suffers from legal,
economic handicaps
>From Frederick Noronha
fred at bytesforall.org
PANAJI (Goa) April 5: Feni, the traditional Goan liquor made from the
cashew apple or coconut sap, is facing a number of challenges, as has
emerged from a stakeholder's meet held to see how a geographical
indication could be got for this liquor.
A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain
products or which corresponds to a specific geographical location or
origin -- a town, region, or country.
GI acts as a certification that the product possesses certain
qualities, or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical
origin. Goa has been trying to get a GI for Feni for some time now.
But more than the GI issue, Feni is fighting a battle for survival on
economic and other grounds. It faces competition from other IMFLs
(Indian-made foreign liquors), problems of adulteration, and the poor
price its producer gets for it.
One of the biggest problems is Feni's classification as a "country
liquor" by the Excise authorities.
This means it cannot be legally exported to other States of India,
placing the odds against it, more so in times of growing market
competition from other liquors entering this State.
Feni has long been considered a "poor man's" drink, though now
tourists and visitors have also taken to it. It has been fighting an
image problem, part of which comes from the strong whiff that comes
along with the traditional drink of Goa.
"People don't know how to drink it. It goes well in cocktails, and our
exhibitions in places like Delhi show that even ladies appreciate a
mild Feni drink," says Arun of Madame Rosa Distillery, a prominent
player in Goa, which is trying hard to promote a hep image for the
drink.
But there were some fears voiced that Goa's large neighbour of
Maharashtra might allow its cashew growers to enter the field of Feni
production soon.
"When you have to sell it at Rs 550 per 'kolso' (a traditional pot
that contains 15 bottles of the liquor) it is simply not
renumerative," said Angelo Barreto of Batora in Curtorim, an
agriculturist and small producer himself of quailty Feni
Others in the field spoke of corruption in getting permits and
licenses in this tightly-controlled field, which only makes operations
unviable.
On Saturday, the University of Warwick's assistant professor in law Dr
Dwijen Rangnekar organised a day-long meeting on the GI-for-Feni issue
that is part of an academic research project, which began with
fieldwork in Goa sometime back.
"There was nobody to lay standards, and nobody to test the standards
for Feni. So then development commissioner J.K. Dadoo asked different
officials -- people from the library, ICAR and the Goa University,
among others -- to take up these tasks," explained Goa Chambers of
Commerce and Industry director-general P.K. Pinto.
The GCCI has also been prominently involved in this activity, of
getting a GI for Feni.
Later in the day, special prizes were handed out to producers and
distributors who had done a good job, after those from the sector
tasted the products of one another.
Dinesh Desai bagged a prize for presenting 'educational value' by
offering urak and Feni produced in the same batch.
Shridhar Parvatkar's brew was rated the most popular.
In terms of innovation, Gurudatta Bhakta of Mapusa got a prize for
innovation by producing a "very pleasant"
industrial Feni, flavoured with spice and masala. Angelo Barreto won a
special jury prize for an eight-year-old
matured feni, produced with the emphasis on quality.
At Saturday's event, there were presentations on products that have
benefitted from geographical indications, such as
Tequila and Mezcal from Mexico, Scotch whiskey from UK and Champagne
from France.
Indian officials also spoke on how GIs had benefitted some traditional
producers.
ENDS
ramanjit
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