Professional Documents
Culture Documents
October-December, 2006
Organic Agriculture
and Food Industry:
Trends, Challenges and Opportunities
K. Muthukumaran*
Production
Estimating area under organic agriculture in India
is a difficult task as there is no central agency
that collects and compiles this information.
However, according to National Program for
Organic Production (NPOP), APEDA, the total
area under certified organic cultivation in India
is around 2508826 ha, which includes wild herbs
collection from forest area of Madhya Pradesh
(MP) and Uttar Pradesh (UP) of 2432500 ha. The
current production of organic crops is around
14,000 tons (Garibay S V and Jyoti K, 2003). Out
of this production, tea and rice contribute around
24% each, and fruits and vegetables combine
makes 17%.
Type of Product
Products
Commodity
Spices
Pulses
Fruits
Vegetables
Oil seeds
Others
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October-December, 2006
Export Market
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October-December, 2006
Domestic Demand
No Quality Monitoring
Control Systems in place
Existence of spurious & low
quality brands in market
Non-availability of bio-inputs
Limited
Penetration of
Organic
Agriculture in
India
No easy quality
assurance mechanisms
Lack of adequate
transportation facilities
Among the constraints listed above, current high levels of transaction costs for getting farms certified as organic is a major
deterrent for enhancing organic production in the country. The certification process is very lengthy and complex and the
cost of certification (refer Table in the next page) is also unaffordable for small farmer.
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Details
Fees (Rs)
12,000/day
5,000 flat fee
5,000/certificate
19,200/day
5,000 flat fee
5,000/certificate
16,800/day
5,000 flat fee
5,000/certificate
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in organic form. In Europe, markets are increasing for readyto-eat meals, frozen foods, baby food, snacks and beverages.
Ingredients needed for organic food processing include juices,
fruit powders, dried fruit, meat, flavourings, essential oils,
herbs and spices and nuts. In Japan, organic consumer goods,
which are in growing demand, include fresh produce, frozen
foods, juice, baked goods, baby food, chicken, sauces and
ready meals. New Zealand has emerged as a significant
supplier of organic foods lately.
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Exporting
Country
Metric
tonnes
Austria
7-8,000
Belgium
500 - 1.000
Denmark
Spain, Italy
2,000
France
9,000
Germany
Italy, Spain
13,000
Netherlands
7,000
Sweden
Spain, Italy
500-1,000
UK
Italy, Spain
8,000
Finland
Spain, Italy
500
Ireland
Luxembourg
500
Total
48-50,000
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Market Prospects
Fresh Organic Citrus
The EU market for fresh organic oranges, tangerines and
lemons is dominated by Italy and Spain. However, with the
two countries remaining the main supplier of organic citrus
in the EU, other marketing opportunities will fall to those
with preferential trade agreements with the EU, with fruit
available from May to September when EU local production
is low or absent. There are also opportunities for exporting
organic grapefruit and limes which are short in supply. There
are more opportunities for fresh citrus exports to the US and
Japan. Although the US produces organic citrus, demand may
exceed supply and its import tariffs on fresh citrus are very
low. The Japanese market for fresh organic citrus also offers
interesting prospects if exporters can meet the new JAS organic
regulations and the tough phytosanitary requirements. Given
its large population with a relatively high per capita income
and focus on health concerns, conservative estimates predict
Japans organic market for fresh organic citrus fruit could grow
to mature market potential of 3-5% of the total citrus market
by 2010.
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Organic Certification
Organic certification is a certification process for producers
of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In
general, any business directly involved in food production
can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, food
processors, retailers and restaurants. Requirements vary from
country to country, and generally involve a set of production
standards for growing, storage, processing, packaging and
shipping that include:
A
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