CP distances itself, chairman from holy basil patents

Subsiiary holds 4 patents, hundreds of traditional varieties available to famers

Charoen Pokphand Group (CP), the country’s largest agribusiness conglomerate, has distanced itself and its senior chairman Dhanin Chearavanont from the controversial patents registered for new varieties of holy basil, a popular herb in Thai cuisine.

In its statement issued on Saturday, CP said false information on social media caused the widespread misunderstanding that CP held the patents on all holy basil varieties in Thailand, and that CP Group and its senior chairman Dhanin were involved.

The posts also misled people into believing that farmers and consumers could neither grow nor sell holy basil without CP’s permission.

“That is not factual, scares people and affects the reputation of Charoen Pokphand Group and the individual mentioned,” the CP statement said.

A subsidiary company, CPRAM, applied for and obtained patents for four new holy basil varieties, and Mr Dhanin and CP had nothing to do with it, the statement said.

CPRAM is a subsidiary of CP All Plc, which is listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. It has good corporate governance and complies with the law. CP is a shareholder but has no  decision-making authority on behalf of the board, management of CP All, or any subsidiary company.

The development of new plant varieties would benefit farmers because they could enjoy higher yields and profits. The patents would not affect farmers’ rights to more than 300 conventional varieties of holy basil, CP said.

CP said it reserved rights to take legal action against any party that distorted information and damaged it and the individuals concerned.

Holy basil, kaphrao in Thai, is the major herbal ingredient in phat kaphrao, ranked one of the “Best Stir-fried Dishes in the World” by TasteAtlas.

After the patent issue made headlines, several news channels reported emotional criticism  from herb vendors at markets.