The organic market in India is largely spread across the food and beverages, health and wellness, beauty and personal care and textile industries. The highest growth is observed in the organic food segment, followed by textile, beauty and personal care.

India is bestowed with lot of potential to produce all varieties of organic products due to its various agro-climatic conditions. In several parts of the country, the inherited tradition of organic farming is an added advantage. This holds promise for the organic producers to tap the market which is growing steadily in the domestic and export sector.

As per the available statistics, India's rank 8th in terms of World's Organic Agricultural land and 1st in terms of total number of producers as per 2020 data (Source: FIBL & IFOAM Year Book, 2020).

Organic packaged food and beverages is an emerging niche market in India and its primary consumers are high-income urbanites. The total market size for organic packaged food in India in 2016 was INR 533 million, growing at 17% over 2015, and is expected to reach INR 871 million by 2021.

In addition to the growing domestic market, India is the second largest exporter of organic products in Asia after China. The major Indian organic products in demand are: oilseeds, sugarcane, cereals & millets, cotton, pulses, medicinal plants, tea, fruits, spices, dry fruits, vegetables and coffee. The country also produces organic cotton fibre and functional food products.

AREA

As on 31st March 2020 total area under organic certification process (registered under National Programme for Organic Production) is 3.67 million Hectare (2019-20). This includes 2.299 million ha cultivable area and another 1.37 million Hectare for wild harvest collection.

Among all the states, Madhya Pradesh has covered largest area under organic certification followed by Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh.

During 2016, Sikkim has achieved a remarkable distinction of converting its entire cultivable land (more than 75000 ha) under organic certification.

PRODUCTION

India produced around 2.75 million MT (2019-20) of certified organic products which includes all varieties of food products namely Oil Seeds, Sugar cane, Cereals & Millets, Cotton, Pulses, Aromatic & Medicinal Plants, Tea, Coffee, Fruits, Spices, Dry Fruits, Vegetables, Processed foods etc. The production is not limited to the edible sector but also produces organic cotton fiber, functional food products etc.

Among different states Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. In terms of commodities Oil seeds are the single largest

category followed by Sugar crops, Cereals and Millets, Tea & Coffee, Fiber crops, fodder, Pulses, Medicinal/ Herbal and Aromatic plants and Spices & Condiments.

EXPORTS

The total volume of export during 2019-20 was 6.389 lakh MT. The organic food export realization was around INR 4,686 crore (689 million USD). Organic products are exported to USA, European Union, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, Israel, UAE, New Zealand, Vietnam etc.

In terms of export value realization Processed foods including soya meal (45.87%) lead among the products followed by Oilseeds (13.25%), Plantation crop products such as Tea and Coffee (9.61%), Cereals and millets (8.19%), Spices and condiments (5.20%), Dry fruits (4.98%, Sugar (3.91), Medicinal plants (3.84%) and others.

Source - http://apeda.gov.in/