Pepsi withdraws lawsuits against Indian potato farmers

Friday, 3 May 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A customer picks packets of Lay's potato chips at a shop in Ahmedabad, India, April 26, 2019. REUTERS

NEW DELHI (Reuters): PepsiCo Inc said yesterday it will withdraw its lawsuits against a number of Indian potato farmers accused of infringing its patent.

After suing four farmers for cultivating the FC5 potato variety, grown exclusively for PepsiCo’s popular Lay’s potato chips, the snack food and drinks maker said last week it wanted to “amicably settle” the issue.

Other than filing the lawsuit against the four farmers in April, PepsiCo had also sued five other potato growers.

“After discussions with the Government, the company has agreed to withdraw the cases against the farmers,” a PepsiCo India spokesman said, adding that applied to all nine of them.

The decision comes after an influential Hindu nationalist group with close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party accused PepsiCo of coercing the farmers.

PepsiCo maintains that it developed the FC5 variety, which has a lower moisture content required to make snacks such as potato chips, and registered the trait in 2016.

In April, the company filed the lawsuit in a court in Ahmedabad, the business hub of the western state of Gujarat, requesting the court to restrain the four farmers from growing the FC5 variety. The company had also sought more than 10 million INR ($ 142,840) each from the farmers.

The state government of Gujarat had assured the farmers that it would help them, deputy chief minister Nitin Patel said last month.

The opposition Congress party had also criticised PepsiCo.

PepsiCo, which set up its first potato chips plant in India in 1989, supplies the FC5 potato variety to a group of farmers who in turn sell their produce to the company at a fixed price.

“The company remains deeply committed to the thousands of farmers we work with across the country and towards ensuring adoption of best farming practices,” said the spokesman.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.