Organic textile exports in India surges by 50 per cent to around Rs. 15 billion during the current fiscal owing to the introduction of a new national certification standard called National Organic Textile Standards (NOTS), according to Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA).
As per APEDA data, during last fiscal India’s organic textile exports stood at Rs. 10.27 billion. Speaking at the launch of the Indian Standards for Organic Textiles (ISOT) that came into effect from July 30, 2012, APEDA Chairman, Asit Tripathy said the new certification standard would not only increase the demand for organic textile items, but would also prove beneficial for local producers as well as the environment.
The new certification aims at introducing uniform norms with global recognition, particularly in key markets like Europe, Japan and Germany, Asit Tripathy said.
The step would raise the acceptability of Indian organic products in overseas markets, he added.
The certification would be covered under the National Programme for Organic Productions (NPOP), which is a legal regime operating under the Ministry of Commerce.
NOTS is seen capturing the long-standing position of the Global Organic Textiles Standards (GOTS), a voluntary international standard applying to the entire post-harvest processing of apparel and home textiles produced from organic fibre like organic wool and organic cotton, the Chairman disclosed.
India is the only country to have introduced organic textile standards at the national level, said APEDA, adding that till now organic textile producers followed private standards for organic textiles, which were not in conformity with international norms. The authority disclosed that over the past five years, the total number of organic products in India has been growing at an average rate of 30 percent.
In the last fiscal, India exported certified organic items like food, textiles and cotton worth around Rs. 18.66 billion to several countries in Asia, the US and the Europe. The amount is representative of a year-on-year rise of 167 percent in value terms.
APEDA was constituted by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act that the Parliament passed in December 1985.
