Exports of Ayush and herbal products in volume grew 42% in five years
New Delhi, July 26, 2022 :
Exports of Ayush and herbal products in the last five years till the fiscal year 2021-22 has registered a growth of 41.5 per cent growth in terms of volume, while imports has registered a three-fold growth during the same period. The Ministry of Ayush has said that the government is taking various initiatives including support to meet the international regulatory requirements, to grow exports of Ayush and herbal products from the country.
According to data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), the exports of Ayush and herbal products in the year 2017-18 was 8.91 crore kilograms, which has grown to 12.61 crore kilograms during the year 2021-22, a year when globally industries faced supply chain constraints.
The exports crossed 10 crore kilogram first time in the last five years in the year 2018-19, at 10.81 crore kilograms before falling to 9.22 crore kilograms in the following year. However, the exports bounced back to 12.06 crore kilogram in the following year, according to the data.
Imports have registered a steady growth till 2020-21, when it touched 7.63 crore kilogram, though the following year of 2021-22 has seen a decline. The exports for the five years have grown from 1.36 crore kilogram in 2017-18 to 5.37 crore kilogram during the year 2021-22.
Exports for the first two months of the current fiscal year of 2022-23 was at 2.15 crore kilogram, while imports crossed 1.07 crore kilogram during the two months of April and May, this year.
In context to International regulatory requirements, the Ministry of Ayush has taken the steps including encouraging the Certification of Pharmaceutical Products (CoPP) as per World Health Organisation guidelines for herbal products. The Ministry, in cooperation with the Quality Council of India has developed a Quality Certification programme, that is Premium mark to increase reliability of standards of ASU&H Products, said Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ayush, in Lok Sabha.
In order to ensure Quality Standards of Ayush products, the Ministry has collaborated with the Bureau of Indian Standards to develop the International (ISO) Standards. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H), Ministry of Ayush and American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, USA was signed on September 13, 2021 for strengthening, promotion, and development of standards in the field of Ayurveda and other Indian Traditional systems of medicine between the two countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.
The Ministry has also established an India-EU Technical Working Group (TWG) on Ayurveda. The Technical Working Group has the representation of technical experts from the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, the European Commission, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and its Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC).
As a part of the policy for the development and export of Ayush products & services across the world, the Ministry of Ayush has taken various steps including signing 25 Country to Country MoUs for cooperation in the field of traditional medicine and homoeopathy with foreign nations. Another 37 MoUs have been signed with international institutes for undertaking collaborative research/academic collaboration. Besides, 15 MoUs have been signed with international institutes for the setting up of Ayush Academic Chairs in foreign nations.
The Ministry has provided support for the establishment of 38 Ayush Information Cells in 34 foreign nations. The Ministry, under its International Fellowship/Scholarship Programme offers scholarships to foreign nationals for undertaking Ayush courses in recognized Ayush institutions in India. The setting up of Ayush Export Promotion Council (AEPC) will also help to promote Ayush products overseas, it said. Pharmabiz