Indian Scenario in World Market of Herbal Products

The fast growing acceptance of alternative medicines like Ayurvedic and herbal products in the whole world is the proof to the quest of mankind to explore and experience Mother Nature for a healthy life. This 'herbal' interest of consumers is rapidly growing, due to toxicity and various side effects of Allopathic medicines. Commercial importance of the herbal industry has been greatly recognized by the Indian business community, which striving towards becoming a global leader in this sector. The uniqueness of Ayurveda, as an alternative system of medicine and that of many herbal products of Indian origin; have a cutting edge to win over a specific share of the world market. However the present status of the Indian herbal and Ayuervedic industry is not praise worthy. According to an Exim bank study at present the world market herbal products is of nearly 67 billion $ and it is estimated to reach $ 5 trillion per year by the year 2050.India’s share of this multi billion market is less than 1% which shows that in spite of having rich heritage of Ayuervedic literature and wide range of medicinal plant species India is still not able to tap the potential demand available in this sector of foreign trade. At present a proper direction of growth for this industry has been missing, properly chalked out strategies and the necessary orientation for export promotion of these medicines as well as herbal products and crude drugs (medicinal plants) is lacking. The promotional efforts by industries and the government have not been sufficient to achieve the require potential. Understanding of market needs; and proper planning of the natural resources and of various herbal products, based on the market requirements has become essential. Identification of the required strategy by analyzing the present market scenario for targeting the true potential of these product groups is necessary. The Indian herbal and Ayurveda industry has to be innovative to compete with upcoming international markets with a well-defined strategy. To assess the real-value export potential of the Indian herbal and Ayurveda industry, it is essential to procure various herbal products systematically by planning their entire cultivation cycle, maintain these natural resources and understand the foreign market to cater their requirements. The growth of the export of herbal products depends on establishing a standardized system. The essence for achieving the export growth lies in committed efforts towards sustainable development of all the facets of the Indian herbal industry. This study is an effort to have a close analytical study of different aspects of export of medicinal plants and products from India