Pakistan Holds First-Ever Rice Festival in Budapest, ‘Art of Biryani’ Demo Steals the Show

Budapest hosted Pakistan’s first-ever Rice Festival this week, and it was the smell of biryani — not the speeches — that did most of the talking. The event, staged by the Pakistan Embassy in the Hungarian capital with the Commerce Ministry and the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), put a single dish centre stage: a live cooking demonstration titled “The Art of Biryani”.

Basmati’s heritage, now under GI protection
Ambassador Asif Hussain Memon walked European buyers through basmati’s story — its long heritage and, crucially, its protected status under the Geographical Indication (GI) regime. The message was plain: the GI tag gives Pakistani basmati a distinct, legally recognised identity in European markets, and Islamabad intends to press that advantage.

A live demo and a taste of pink salt
The festival’s centrepiece was the hands-on demo by Trade and Investment Attaché Shehryar Amjad Qaisrani, who cooked biryani in front of the guests. Visitors also sampled Himalayan pink salt. The embassy handed out rice samples and a short recipe booklet — written in Hungarian — built around rice-based dishes.

A step toward European markets
Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan welcomed the festival, calling it a push to open European markets for Pakistan’s agro-food exports. Guests left with an invitation to FoodAg 2026, the food and agriculture exhibition scheduled for November 23–26, 2026 at the Expo Centre in Karachi.