The Indian organic food market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 25% till 2019. This rise is attributed to various reasons: both to the demand as well as the supply side. The consumer’s increasing disposable income, increasing consciousness about food and exposure to new cuisines and world class food. At the same time, increasing availability of organic foods in departmental stores, online being used as a distribution channel and increasing competition (24 Mantra, Organic Tattva) in the category is in turn popularizing the category.
With the increase in availability, there has also been a rise in contamination in organic foods. With a view to have a focused development of organic farming and quality organic products, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, launched programmes for organic food certification. These certifications also meet the international standards. TQ FoodCert (A division of TQ Cert Services Pvt. Ltd.) has been accredited by APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority), under Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India. The NPOP standards for production and accreditation system have been recognized by European Commission and Switzerland for unprocessed plant products as equivalent to their country standards.
There are various benefits of this certification- from facilitating better returns for produce to protecting natural resources and supporting local economies