India

Agricultural land

Currently, according to the FiBL & IFOAM survey, India ranks 7th in terms of total land under organic cultivation. The cultivated land under certification is around 2.8 million hectares  ( 2007-08). This includes 1 million hectares under cultivation and the rest is under forest area (wild collection).

Production

India produced around 396'997 metric tons of certified organic products which includes all varieties of food products namely

• Basmati rice
• Pulses
• Honey
• Tea
• Spices
• Coffee
• Oil Seeds
• Fruits
• Processed food
• Cereals
• Herbal medicines and
• value added products

The production is not limited to the edible sector but also produces organic

• cotton fiber
• garments
• cosmetics
• functional food products
• body care products, etc.
  Exports 

India exported 86 items in  2007-08 with the total volume of 37'533 metric tons. The export realization was around 100.4 million US Dollars registering a 30 percent  growth over the previous year. Organic products are mainly exported to the EU, US, Australia, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, South Africa and Middle East. Cotton leads among the products exported (16'503 metric tons).

Source: APEDA Homepage, Organic Products Page, Download of March 15, 2009

Contact

• Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
  Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India
  NCUI Building 3, Siri Institutional Area, August Kranti Marg,
  New Delhi - 110 016, India
  Tel. +91 11 26513204, 26514572, 26534186
  Fax  91-11-26526187
  headq@no-spam.apeda.com

Information

• Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA): Homepage
• APEDA: Organic products

The Government of India has implemented the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP).

The national programme involves the accreditation programme for certification bodies, norms for organic production, promotion of organic farming etc.

The NPOP standards for production and accreditation system have been recognized by European Commission and Switzerland as equivalent to their country standards. Similarly, USDA has recognized NPOP conformity assessment procedures of accreditation as equivalent to that of US.

With these recognitions, Indian organic products duly certified by the accredited certification bodies of India are accepted by the importing countries.

Source: APEDA Homepage, Organic Products Page, Download of March 15, 2009

Contact

• Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
  Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India
  NCUI Building 3, Siri Institutional Area, August Kranti Marg,
  New Delhi - 110 016, India
  Tel. +91 11 26513204, 26514572, 26534186
  Fax  91-11-26526187
  headq@no-spam.apeda.com

Further information

• APEDA: National Programme for Organic Production