Exim Bank Sees $60bn Market For Herbs

The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) yesterday said the government must promote commercial cultivation, research and development and exports of medicinal plants to meet the global demand for such plants.

Exim Bank, which conducted a study on export of medicinal plants, said, India, with its large and variable emporium of medicinal plants, needed to evolve a favourable policy to cater to global trade which is put at over US dollars 60 billion per year.

The export market for medicinal plants appeared to be growing faster than the Indian domestic market, the study said adding, The cosmetics industry as well as aroma therapy are two important areas where Indian medicinal plants or their value-added extracts can contribute a lot globally.

 

Medicinal and aromatic plants had a high market potential with the world demand for herbal products growing at the rate of seven per cent per annum.