Despite the pandemic, India's organic exports grew 51 per cent over 2019-20 levels, government officials said on Monday, adding it envisages targeting 10 per cent export share in the global fruits and vegetable market by 2030.
About the export potential of organic and horticulture produce in India, Joint Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Priya Ranjan said: "India's organic exports stood at 8,88,180 metric tonnes in 2020-21."
"To ensure the quality of our organic produce, we need to have a robust system of certification and the Government of India has anchored two systems of certification for organic products," he said, emphasising that appropriate phyto-sanitary protocols need to be ensured for better acceptability of Indian organic and horticultural products.
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"We envisage targeting 10 per cent export share in global fruits and vegetable market by 2030," he said at the India Pavilion at EXPO2020 Dubai that hosted seminar 'Indian Organic and Horticulture Sector - Moving Up the Value Chain' as part of the ongoing 'Food, Agriculture and Livelihood' fortnight to project the strength of India's organic agriculture and horticulture products in the global market.
The seminar, to deliberate on the opportunities and huge export potential that the Indian agriculture sector offers, saw participation from the representatives of the government and private sector.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, Additional Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, P.K. Swain urged the global investors to invest in the agriculture supply chain and take advantage of FDI policies introduced by the government in the sector.
Highlighting the impressive trajectory of India's agriculture ecosystem, , Partner, Food & Agribusiness, KPMG, K. Srinivas said: "India is ranked amongst the top 10 exporting countries in agriculture and the overall exports have been growing at an extremely significant rate."
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"Despite the pandemic challenges, we were able to achieve this feat and it strengthens India's positioning as an exporter globally," he added.
Emphasising on the export-focused strategy for the promotion of organic and horticulture produce, Srinivas said: "This platform is helping us initiate conversation around awareness and capacity building with investors to make prominence of India in horticulture space."
