Thailand has applied with the European Union for geographical indication (GI) protection for jasmine rice from the Thung Kula Ronghai paddy-growing area.

Thai Hom Mali rice, or jasmine rice, from the Thung Kula Ronghai area that covers 320,00 hectares, spreading over five provinces in north-east Thailand, is deemed the country's best-quality jasmine rice.

The GI system protects a product by certifying it comes from a certain area and has characteristics that cannot be replicated elsewhere, a famous example being Champagne, the region in France where the bubbly wine is made.