Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Apr 12, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Apr 12, 2003 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Standards & Benchmarks Call for more domestic bodies to certify organic farm products Our Bureau
COIMBATORE, April 11 THE total area under organic farming in the country is a meagre 45,000 hectares (ha) compared to 24 million ha under organic management in Germany, followed by Australia at 20.5 million ha, Argentina - 3.2 million ha, Italy - 1.2 million ha and the US - 0.95 million ha. According to researchers, the domestic market for organic products was virtually non-existent in India because of the high cost. While emphasising the need to create awareness for such products within the country, scientists pointed out the Ministry of Industry and Commerce had, considering the demand for organic products on the global arena, set up a special cell for getting these products certified by Apeda (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority). The total value of certified organic produce has been estimated at $18.5 million. Apeda's estimated value of non-certified organic crops other than tea, coffee, spices and cotton has been put at $3.5 million. The Secretary of the Organic Agriculture Scientific Society for Integrated Services (OASIS), Prof A. Narayanan, told Business Line that but for Apeda there were no domestic Government-approved accreditation agency for organic products. "Foreign certification agencies operating in India are now registered and allowed to certify, following the regulation introduced by the Commerce Ministry in 2001, making certification mandatory", he said. Apeda, he said, was taking steps to accredit Indian certifying bodies. ISCOP (Indian Society for Organic Certification) based at Coimbatore was among these.
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