Govt lifts restrictions on organic product exports

Aiming to promote organic farming, the government has partially relaxed restrictions on exports of sugar, pulses and edible oils, produced without using chemical fertiliser and pesticides.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has allowed exports of organic cooking oil, sugar and pulses upto 10,000 tonnes each per annum.

"Prohibition on export of edible oils is up to September 30, 2011. But, the same will not apply to export of organic edible oils...With a ceiling of 10,000 tonnes per annum," the DGFT said in a notification.

The requirement of obtaining Release Order (RO) from the Chief Director (Sugar) would not apply to export of 10,000 tonnes of organic sugar per annum, it added.

The DGFT added that the exemption on export of 10,000 tonnes of pulses and lentils would be given every year.

The government has allowed sugar exports of up to five lakh tonnes as production this year is set to exceed the domestic demand.

India had banned pulses' export in 2006 to augment the domestic supply and check prices. However, the government exempted the shipments of Kabuli Chana and 10,000 tonnes of organic pulses for the year 2011-12.

Organic farming, which is taking slow but steady roots in India, is practised on around 10.8 lakh hectares of land from just 42,000 hectares in 2004-05.

Government has initiated several projects for promotion of organic farming and the use of bio-pesticides and bio-fertilisers.

Nine states have so far drafted organic farming policies. Government is giving special thrust to organic farming aimed at sustaining agricultural productivity in the long-run and to address soil health issue.

As organic food is costlier than the one produced through chemical fertilisers and pesticides, there are limited buyers for such products. Any export opportunity is thus encouraging for the organic farming communities.