{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2013-120/annex-II/division-SINGLE/division-5/division-5.3",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2013-120/annex-II/division-SINGLE/division-5/division-5.3.json",
  "legislation": "eur/2013/120",
  "legislation_title": "Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 120/2013 of 11 February 2013 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications ( (Khao Hom Mali Thung Kula Rong-Hai) (PGI))",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2013-120",
  "path": "annex/II/division/SINGLE/division/5/division/5.3",
  "kind": "division",
  "number": "5.3",
  "heading": "Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI)",
  "text": "‘Thung Kula Rong-Hai’ is derived from the legendary ‘Kula merchants’. According to the legend, because of the dry weather in the dry season, a group of native people called Kula who were merchants journeyed across this large plain to sell their wares. They travelled until they were exhausted, but were still unable to reach the other side. They then felt like crying (‘Rong-Hai’ in Thai), hence the name ‘Thung Kula Rong-Hai’ (‘plain of the crying Kula’).\nCultivation of Hom Mali rice in Thung Kula Rong-Hai began after the government improved the Hom Mali rice variety and certified it in 1959 naming it ‘Khao Dawk Mali 105’. Cultivation became more widespread in 1979 when the rice seeds exchange project called for planting glutinous rice in the Thung Kula Rong-Hai area. Farmers were advised to change the new rice seeds every three years to maintain seed purity.\nBecause the paddy depended on rain water, cultivation could be carried out only once a year. Harvesting takes place in the cold season when the weather is cold and dry (after the end of the rainy season). According to local knowledge, a flooded paddy field needs to be drained about 10 to 15 days before harvesting to obtain rice of good physical quality, with long, slim, clear and sturdy grains. The cooked rice should be soft and fragrant. This practice, coupled with good agricultural practice (GAP), gives Khao Hom Mali Thung Kula Rong-Hai its unique quality, distinctive from Hom Mali rice grown in other areas and recognised by traders and consumers both in the producing country itself and internationally.\nThe slightly saline soil in northern Thailand, the coolness and dryness of the area, the specific rice varieties (KDML 105 and RD 15) used, the climate and the soil nutrients cause the paddy to become stressed and to produce the aromatic substance 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP), the same substance which produces the fragrance in pandanus leaves. This is the miracle gift from the nature on Khao Hom Mali Thung Kula Rong Hai.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2013/120/annex/II/division/SINGLE/division/5/division/5.3",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T14:48:51.675499+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}