Indo-german Chamber of Commerce recently organised an Industry Meet to focus on  the “Policy and Market Development” in the organic industry

Speaking on the occasion and announcing the 4th edition of duo exhibition, BioFach India together with India Organic 2012 to be held in Bangalore from 29 November to 1 December, Mr. Frank Venjakob, Director– International Exhibitions, NuernbergMesse GmbH said, “Everybody have a different motivation to buy different products, all that needs to be done is to create awareness among the masses about the usefulness of these organic products”.

A number of Indian companies are aiming to create marketing structures in India itself by developing the retail trade, because demand is growing all the time. 30 % of consumers want to buy organic products and are even prepared to pay 10 % to 20 % more for them, according to the result of a survey of 1,000 consumers in ten cities.

India’s organic agriculture continues to flourish and more and more farms are converting to organic. The organically farmed area is to reach 2 million hectares this year, which is 1.5 % of the total farming area. This expansion benefits tens of thousands of small farmers, who are taking the officially adopted path supported by the state and which will end with India becoming one of the world's top organic producers. With its natural variety of climatic zones and forms of vegetation and the marked farming tradition, India has excellent qualities. Apart from the health and financial advantages of the organic farming method for the individual producer and his family, the long-term preservation of biodiversity and climate protection benefits nature. Many politicians and companies have recognized this and are investing in the organic sector.

Farmer Markets is another way to promote and encourage the use of organic products but doing these markets once in a month is not a solution, these should take place at regular intervals to create more awareness about the organic items”, said Sanjeev Chopra, Joint Secretary, Department of Agriculture &Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

Many federal states create incentives for converting to organic through financial funds and grants. For example, Karnataka, the host state of the Indian exhibition duo, is again providing generous state support for the event in 2012. Marketing is taken care of by the state export promotion organization APEDA, the International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA) as co-organizer of BioFach India together with India Organic, and others. Indian organic market sales are expected to grow to the equivalent of 690 million US dollars this year. This is almost four times as much as the total market volume of 180 million US dollars in 2010.

“The growth definitely seems to be slow but it is a gradual process that takes time. In a matter of 5 to 6 years we see tremendous growth for organic products”, added Dr.A.K Yadav, Former Director– NCOF (National Centre of Organic Farming), Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government. of India.