Meghalaya: Govt issues warning about illegal Lakadong turmeric production, sales

Guwahati: The Meghalaya government has issued a warning to individuals as well as companies involved in the alleged illegal cultivation and marketing of Lakadong turmeric outside designated geographical regions.

This move comes after the state's Agriculture Department detected cases of falsely branded Lakadong turmeric grown outside Meghalaya.

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Lakadong turmeric, renowned for its high curcumin content and darker colour due to organic cultivation, received its Geographical Indication (GI) tag in March 2024.

The GI tag, numbered 741, restricts authentic production to East and West Jaintia Hills districts.

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With the GI tag, growing Lakadong turmeric outside designated areas and selling it as authentic Lakadong turmeric is illegal.

Only registered proprietors and authorised users have exclusive rights to use the GI tag.

Producing Lakadong turmeric outside designated areas constitutes infringement under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 1999.