Organic exports from India surges 35% to $666 m in FY25

The government on Tuesday said India’s export of organic products jumped 35 per cent to $665.96 million (about ₹5,710 crore) during the 2024-25 fiscal from $494.80 million in the previous year due to a surge mainly in shipments of cereals, tea, spices, medicinal plants, oilseeds and processed foods. In volume terms, the growth was 41 per cent at 0.37 million tonnes (mt) from 0.26 mt.

Though the government said that the upward trend shows rising global demand for Indian organic products, experts said that there is a lot of steps needed to re-build the brand ‘Organic India’ amid questions raised over credibility of certifying agencies.

Export of organic cereals (rice) and millets increased to $161.67 million in FY25 from $86.66 million in FY24, that of organic processed food to $154.01 million from $129.61 million, medicinal plant products to $88.57 million from $72.42 million, organic tea to $45.13 million from $34.11 million, organic spices to $45.42 million from $35.93 million and organic oilseeds to $36.20 million from $25.64 million.

Potential to increase

While launching the eighth edition of National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) with new regulations aimed at enhancing clarity and transparency in organic product standards as well as aligning with global standards in January 2025, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that India has the potential to increase exports of organic products up to ₹20,000 crore in the next three years as more and more farmers enter organic farming.

The standards were released at a time when India’s organic products further undergo tests at many importing destinations, while the US is yet to resume its recognition for NPOP.

Goyal said Ministries of Cooperation, Agriculture and Commerce were jointly working to advance organic farming by supporting the farmers and farmer producer organisations (FPOs) via skill development and training, export facilitation, marketing and packaging.

“The global demand for organic products is around Rs 1 lakh crore and with increased promotion and production, this demand may reach to Rs 10 lakh crore. India has the largest number of organic farmers globally and ranks second in terms of area under organic cultivation. With some additional efforts, I am confident that we can become the global leader in organic farming significantly enhancing farmers’ income and promoting Indian organic produce to the international market,” he had said.

Websites revamp

The government has already launched the revamped portal of NPOP which is expected to provide more visibility and facilitate ease of operations for organic stakeholders. APEDA has revamped the website TraceNet 2.0, upgraded with NPOP for seamless operations and enhanced tools for regulatory oversight.

“In the current bilateral trade agreement being discussed with the US, the government should insist on re-recognition of NPOP so that Indian organic products can easily shipped there as currently the US government’s accredited agencies are only allowed to certify. If any other agency certifies a product, an organic exporter has to spend additional amount to get the certification done from the US-accredited body,” said an expert.

Published on April 15, 2025

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