Goa Blog

Feni, the traditional Goan liquor(feni) made from the cashew apple or coconut sap, is facing a number of challenges, as 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, which restricts the use of the name to products made in specific geographical location or origin — like a town, region, or country.

GI acts as a certification that the product possesses certain unique qualities, or enjoys a certain reputation, owing to its geographical origin. Goa has been trying to get a GI for Feni for quite 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), faces problems of adulteration and, mainly, 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 in India, placing the odds against it, in times of growing market competition from other liquors entering the State.
There were some fears voiced at the meet that neighbouring 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 measure, which approximates to 15 bottles), 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 of law Dr Dwijen Rangnekar organised a meeting on the GI-for-Feni issue that is part of an academic research project, which began with fieldwork in Goa last year. “There was nobody to lay standards, and nobody to test the standards for Feni. So then development commissioner J K Dadoo gave the task to different officials — people from the library, ICAR and the Goa University, among others — to take up these tasks,” explained Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Director General P K Pinto. The GCCI has also been involved in this activity.
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 Urrack 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 an emphasis on quality.

At Saturday’s event, there were also presentations on products that have benefitted from geographical indications, such as Tequila and Mezcal from Mexico, Scotch whisky from the UK and Champagne from France. Indian officials also spoke on how GIs had benefitted some traditional producers of other products like tea, handicrafts and fabrics.

-Herald, Goa Daily