India: APEDA plans to boost export of organic products

freshplaza.com, Nov 27, 2008

Limited marketing and export channels has been hitting the export of organic food of Orissa, which is the highest producer of ginger, turmeric, cashew nuts and the second in vegetables. The state government will now certify farmer’s produce to check this slack in trade. The move will establish a standard for the local produce in international markets.

“Certification is a marketing tool for exports. If the farm products are branded with the India Organic logo, farmers would feel motivated “Agriculture and Processed Food Exports Development Authority (APEDA) chairman Asit Tripathy said. Tripathy said APEDA will provide support and training to the Orissa State Organic Certification Authority (OSOCA), which has about 41,970 hectors of land under various stages of certification.

He further added that the training will also help the state run agency to be at par with international organic farm and product inspection bodies. Organic foods are those which are produced according to certain standards and in case of crops, it means there is no use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in it.

“Orissa has a huge potential in the export market due to its low usage of fertilizers. Large tracts of land in the districts like Koraput, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Kandhamal (Phulbani) have already become organic said agriculture production commissioner SP Nanda addiing that the state government has also assured of providing all supports on policy levels. “

At present Orissa tops the list as the largest certified organic land area with over 26,387.86 hectors followed by Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Maharastra.

Tripathy said APEDA has brought out a National Programme for organic production which includes national standards for production, processing labeling, storage and transport of organic products, certification, inspection programmes and the creation of the organic logo named India Organic. Orissa has been exporting organic products like ginger, turmeric, mustard, tamarind , mango, cotton, rice and honey to foreign countries like USA, UK, Germany, Netherland, Denmark, and Egypt etc.