The Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) will soon submit its special committee reports to the Department of Ayush on quality based certification scheme and standards to identify quality testing labs for herbal and Ayurveda products with export-oriented recommendations.
The two special committees, one to formulate a certification programme for heavy metals, pesticide residue and microbial contamination for exported products and the other for prescribing the specifications for tests and to identify the testing laboratories, will submit their reports with possible recommendations to the Department of Ayush, Government of India, within a month, informed Dr P V Appaji, executive director, Pharmexcil. If approved by the concerned departments, the government will endorse the recommendations as mandatory standards for exporting herbal and Ayurveda products.
The reports come as the council's efforts to prepare a strategic paper to grab the global opportunities in herbals and Ayurvedics export. The council will finalise the methodology for the strategic paper, with the support of department of Ayush and department of commerce, within the next 15 days and plans are afoot to submit the paper within three months, added Appaji.
"With recommendations of around seven experts in each group, the special committee report is to look into some of the specific product safety issues on herbal exports business. The strategic paper will have a broader perspective, to probe into the requirements like which procedure should be made mandatory and which process can be exempted. It will also cover the Indian scenario under global perspective," Appaji told Pharmabiz. He revealed that once the paper is ready, the Department of Ayush might endorse the recommendations as standards for the herbal exports industry in India.
In order to prepare a complete database prior to the development of strategic paper, Pharmexcil is currently enlisting the export players in herbal and Ayurvedic industry in the country. The council sought representations from the members interested in exports of herbal (value added products/ayurvedics) before February 15, 2007 with adequate particulars for further follow-up. The council will also analyse the present scenario of Indian herbal exports industry for further recommendations.
The Indian herbal exports market is currently more than Rs 600 crore, with about 5000 botanical species having medicinal properties. To grab a major opportunity in the global market, with estimated potential of over USD 60 billion (Rs 2,65,080 crore), the industry should abide strict product safety norms, and the council is trying to help the industry in the matter, he said.
The council, with the support of central government, had convened two meetings in December 2006 and January 2007, to probe methods to develop the sector and grab the opportunities. It has also created a herbal/Ayurvedic cell at its Hyderabad office by the end of 2006, in association with organisations like Ayurvedic Drug Manufacturers Association (ADMA).