Global interest in feni to escalate with GI

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Panaji- With the Geographical Indication (GI) in place, ‘Feni’ stakeholders believe that worldwide interest in the beverage will spiral. So, it seems inexorable for exports to shoot up. But speaking to a cross section of experts in the trade coughed up varied opinions.

According to the Excise Commissioner, Mr Sandip Jacques, “We have just one main exporter of the liquor, as the contribution from a couple of others is very, very insignificant.” Probing into the export figures confirms the fact that the figure might seem large for a small time distiller or bottler but at the global level, it is absolutely insignificant.

Mr Gurudatta Bhakta, owner of Cazcar opines, “Anyone who looks to instantly boost exports or make a quick profit will only bring about the downfall of the liquor. There are farmers who do not even know what the GI is. If you scan the scene from Pernem to Canacona, you will see that so much of the beverage being produced is of very poor quality, as these distillers are too poor to do otherwise.”

He expounds further, “I personally see that in five years we will be reaping the benefits in terms of exports. Each country has its own set of chemical standards and ‘Feni’ has to meet at least the minimum criteria.” There are others in the trade who disagree saying that the effect of the GI is already being felt globally in terms of recognition.

Mr Rajesh Desai, a spice farmer who distills the liquor on a small scale and sells his exotic produce to foreign tourists on a visit, with a dash of vanilla in it, sees bright prospects with the procuring of the GI. He says, “When a standardised procedure is in place, exports will quickly shoot up as already there is a good demand by quite a number of foreigners.”

Chat with the small time ‘bhaticars’ and the majority of them are starkly unaware of even the concept of the GI. Mr Nilesh Desai, a distiller from Mopa laments, “It is very difficult to keep up with our trade. The government does promise a lot of stuff but where is it reaching us?

We need a lot of financial help for fertilisers, utensils, water supply etc.”

While the scene seems grim among the ‘bhaticars’, Mr S Kurade, vice president of Goa State Industries Association, confers light on the scene as he enlightens, “It is a matter of educating the uneducated on the importance of a brand. To underline the urgency, as of now, there is a proposal by the Maharashtra government to the central government to fund a major ‘Feni’ producing plant in the Konkan region. The GI will promptly put a stop to such activities, in the sense, their produce can never be labelled as ‘Feni’.”

Mr Jacques is reassuring as he concludes, “A lot of awareness and education on the subject is needed. Besides, a whole lot of things need to be looked into. The very fact that we plan to reclassify ‘Feni’ as Heritage liquor from its country liquor status, implies we cannot tamper with tradition. So, very gradually we will infuse something new and fine tune the systems to boost production further but without compromising on methods and mechanisms.”