“The future is great for organic in India. It’s growing at a fast rate.” – Dr AK Yadav, Advisor, Department of Agriculture, Government of India.
◊ By Rutaksha Rawat
Note: To access the contact details of all Indian organic suppliers, buy Organic Directory
On May 29, 2020, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and NuernbergMesse India, the organiser of BIOFACH INDIA, with Pure & Eco India as Media Partner, hosted a webinar for the Indian organic industry on the video conferencing platform, Zoom.
The webinar titled, ‘Organic, Natural and Healthy Lifestyle – The New Normal’, shed light on the evolution of the Indian organic sector, and touched upon new trends, new focus areas, scope and trade, especially given the ongoing pandemic.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIAN
ORGANIC MARKET – 2020
- Nutricereals, health foods and organic foods are the new focus areas of consumers.
- Nutricereals is a segment to watch out for. The government has declared 2023 as the ‘Year of Nutricereals’ and is trying to promote this segment heavily.
- Whereas earlier, only crops were accorded the ‘organic’ certification, this certification is now available for even livestock, seaweed, etc. Therefore, there is immense scope for stakeholders to cater for demand in multiple avenues.
- Whereas earlier, the organic industry in India was export-led, it is now domestic sales that are in the lead and domestic consumption is rising at a rapid rate—faster than the export market.
- Previously the government’s focus was on organic production and land conversion, but now there is greater focus on providing market access to farmers through formation of FPOs and market linkages.
- Within the next 5 years, the government plans to increase organic area by 100%, ie, making it 4% of the total agricultural land in the country.
- There is now huge demand for organic fruits and vegetables in the domestic market, whereas earlier, only non-perishables were sought.
PANELISTS ON BOARD INCLUDED
- Dr Tarun Bajaj, Director, APEDA
- Dr AK Yadav, Advisor, Department of Agriculture, Government of India
- Markus Reetz, Executive Director, International Exhibitions, NuernbergMesse
KEY FOCUS AREAS DISCUSSED
- The future of organic farming in India.
- Domestic consumption trends.
- Market linkage – ‘Farm to Retail to Fork’.
Dr Tarun Bajaj, Director, APEDA, pointed out that India is counted among the top 10 countries in agritrade worldwide, and that it enjoys a 2.1% share in global export of organic products.
India also contributes to 1.7% of the total global imports of organic products.
According to Dr Bajaj, the country currently has approx. 1.1 million certified farmers, and more than 28 million ha of organic certified land. It exports organic products to the EU, USA, Canada, etc. The Indian export market in organic products (food & food ingredients) currently stands at 750 million USD.
It is expected that post Covid-19, consumers will emerge more health conscious than ever and demand is expected to surge further. Nutricereals, health foods and organic foods are the new focus area for consumers.
Nutricereals is a segment to watch out for. In fact, the government has declared 2023 as the ‘Year of Nutriceareals’ and is trying to promote this segment heavily.
Further, the government has taken cognisance of the growing demand for organic food and many schemes are on offer by both the central and state governments to convert more farms into organic.
Whereas earlier, only crops were accorded the ‘organic’ certification, this certification is now available for even livestock, seaweed, etc. Therefore, there is immense scope for stakeholders to cater for demand in multiple avenues.
Dr AK Yadav, Advisor, Department of Agriculture, Government of India, pointed out that whereas earlier, the organic industry in India was export-led, it is now domestic sales that are in the lead and domestic consumption is rising at a rapid rate.
According to him, the government has recognised the scope in organic farming and within the next 5 years, plans to increase organic area by 100%, ie, making it 4% of the total agricultural land in the country.
He indicated that the government is keen to distance itself from pesticide usage and has accepted zero budget farming as mainstream. India is spending huge amounts of public sector funds on organic agriculture, which is rare.
Previously the government’s focus was on organic production and land conversion, whereas now, there is greater focus on providing market access to farmers through formation of FPOs and market linkages.
Dr Yadav estimates that after the pandemic, the organic sector will come up in a huge way in India. He shares there is now huge demand for organic fruits and vegetables in the domestic market, whereas earlier, only non-perishables were purchased.
Markus Reetz, Executive Director, International Exhibitions, NuernbergMesse, shared that BIOFACH INDIA, the largest trade fair in India for organic trade, would be taking place in October 2020 despite Covid-19 and that all regulations put forth by the authorities would be adhered to strictly.
He stated that the future of trade shows was going to be a hybrid of analogue and digital, but emphasised that the digital format could never replace physical trade shows as personal interaction is crucial to information exchange and relationship building.
The webinar concluded with a promise from Dr Bajaj: “Those who join this movement will not regret it.”
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