Stakeholder discussion with Organic Food Industry on India-UK Trade Agreement
Trade Promotion Council of India, in collaboration with ICRIER, organised a Stakeholder Consultation with the Organic Food industry to discuss the India-UK Trade Agreement on January 28, 2022. The discussion aimed to understand the perspectives of stakeholders on organic food’s export potential, growth challenges and the prospects of liberalisation of this sector under the FTA.
On January 28, 2022, Trade Promotion Council of India organised a Stakeholder Consultation with the organic food industry to discuss the India-UK Trade Agreement in partnership with ICRIER.
Over 180 countries across the world have adopted organic farming by certifying the land as organic farm land. Out of this, 36 million ha of organic land was in Oceania, 15.6 million ha in Europe, 8.0 million ha in Latin America and rest in other regions of the world. Housing the largest number of organic producers (1.5 million), India currently ranks 9th with an area of 1.94 million hectares under organic farming.
This session was designed to determine the perspectives of stakeholders on organic food’s export potential, the issues that Indian merchants face while shipping products to the UK, growth challenges and the prospects of liberalisation of this sector under the FTA. Some of the focus areas under discussion were as follows:
● Potential of fresh and processed organic products in the UK and Indian markets.
● The current ban on importing organic food products in India.
● Challenges faced in terms of import procedures, lack of well-defined HS codes, regulatory issues, ambiguity around testing and certification, etc.
Following is the list of panelists who were a part of the discussion:
● Dr Sujata Singh, Consultant (Asst. Dir (Tech), FSSAI
● Harsh Hiroo Gursahani Partner, Food Laws & Compliance Intl. Trade Laws, PLR Chambers
● Dr P V S M Gouri, Executive Director & CEO, Association of Indian Organic Industry
● Dr Saon Ray, Visiting Professor at ICRIER
● Ullaas Misra, Co-founder, Spice Root
● Anand Mani Tripathi, Director, Aryavarta Organics Pvt. Ltd.
● Sharmila Oswal, Director, Basilia Organic
● Rohan Grover, Director, Nature Bio Foods
● Poornima Kuram, Director, Naturally Organic Wholefoods Ltd
● Kaushal Khakkar, CEO, Kaybees Exports
● Kirti Zope, Asst Manager, Kaybees Exports
● Manish Roy, Capital Ventures
● Srilakshmi Yadavalli, Snr Manager, Intl Trade, Sresta Natural Bioproducts Pvt. Ltd.
● Mr Ajay Katyal, Director & CEO, Nature Pearls Private Limited
Dr Arpita Mukherjee, Professor, ICRIER represented the prominent policy think tank at these discussion and the session was moderated by Virat Bahri, Deputy Director, Media & Corporate Communications, Trade Promotion Council of India.
