The Pharmexcil and the Department of Ayush have come together to form a herbal export consortium to tap the huge export potential for herbal products. The group will work on raw material quality, common testing & analysis, standardisation and better bargaining for Indian herbal products. This will benefit to all companies in the field for sourcing raw materials.

Pharmexcil had recently organised a round table conference for developing the strategy paper for the promotion of herbal, ayurvedic product export and value addition to tap the overseas market. The secretary of the department of Ayush, Anita Das, has allotted Rs 550 crore for the export promotion activity.

Speaking to Pharmabiz, G Vijay Kumar, consultant advisor-herbal ayurvedics cell, said, "Herbal export market is having huge potential worldwide and 99 per cent market is still untapped. Indian herbal industry will be following the WHO guidelines." Currently, herbal product company who is exporting their product to the European country from the year 1994 will not face much data compilation, he added.

D B Mody, chairman, Pharmexcil said, "The size of the Indian Herbal and Ayurvedic market was estimated at Rs 5000 crore but the share of Herbal medicines export from India was very insignificant. Therefore, there is a lot of scope for enhancing the share of herbal medicinal products." He said that an exclusive cell for export promotion of Ayush Products is being formed in the Council. This cell will closely work with Department of Ayush and other Government Departments to prepare a road map for Ayush industry.

Pharmexcil highlighted the need for focusing on 10 selected products, identifying a national programme for the selected 10 products, urgent need for Export Certification programme, attention towards developing markets like, Africa, CIS etc and branding of the Indian products. Efforts will be made to bring the consistency in the quality standardisation of Indian products and price within the domestic market.


Pharmexcil has already constituted a National Committee headed by a Technocrat in the field of Ayurvedic medicines to guide herbal industry to march ahead with the basic objective of promoting exports to developed countries.

While speaking about future programme, Vijay Kumar said, "We are having excellent potential. We are making road map for the Ayush Industry with a strategic paper. For the certification of the Export, Export Inspection Promotion Council, PLIM and Shriram Institute of Toxicology, will prepare an export inspection scheme for Ayush industry. We will also work on surveys & studies and audio/video presentations, which can disseminate in a large way from the point of view of industry. There will be Co-operation with the industry for preparation of the Drug Master Files (DMF). In the early August 2007, 56 new monograph in the pharmacopoeia will be released".

The meeting was participated by joint secretaries of ministry of chemicals and fertilizers, ministry of industry and commerce, department of Ayush, and DCGI. It was also attended by directors of Indian Pharmacopoeia commission, United States Pharmacopoeia Commission, National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Export Inspection Council, Ayurveda Drug Manufacturers Association (ADMA) and CEOs of leading companies like Natural Remedies, Ranbaxy, Ayurvet, Zandu Pharmaceuticals, Medicament Biotech, etc.