New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) The commerce ministry's arm APEDA has revised the NPOP's regulations to make it more farmer-friendly and help India achieve USD 2 billion exports target for organic food products by 2030, a government official said.

The National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) provides standards for organic production and procedure for accreditation of Certification Bodies.

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The standards and procedures have been formulated in harmony with other International Standards regulating the import and export of organic products.

The eighth edition of NPOP will be released on January 9 here.

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"The revised edition has more farmer-friendly features. It will bring more clarity and help more farmers to come into this field," Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) Chairman Abhishek Dev told PTI.

During April-November this fiscal, these exports rose by about 40 per cent to USD 456 million. It was USD 495 million in 2023-24.

The ministry is aiming to increase the outbound shipments to USD 2 billion by 2030.

To promote Indian organic goods in the global markets, he said APEDA is facilitating the participation of a number of companies in 'BioFach', which is the largest organic food trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany.

The four-day fair will start from February 11.

The NPOP is the primary organic regulatory standard of the Country, it is accepted by the importing countries and has been a key driver for market access of organic products.

The NPOP standards for crop production have been recognised by the European Commission and Switzerland as equivalent to their country's standards and are also accepted by Great Britain.

APEDA has been designated as the secretariat for the implementation of the NPOP and regulatory oversight over the operations of the certification bodies. It was last revised in 2014.

Dev said that the changes under NPOP are aimed at providing more simplification, and clarity of processes.

In the revised edition, certification requirements for grower groups are clarified, and procedures for farmer shifts have been streamlined.

Enhanced transparency is there regarding certified organic operators, including grower group farmers by uploading basic information in the public domain, information of all farmers.

The NPOP, 2024 will be supported by a revamped traceability system with data analytics and a Mobile App for inspection and verification of Operators (including grower group farmers) for strengthened oversight of the certification processes, he said.

India has emerged as a prominent supplier of organic products in a span of two decades.

The country's organic food exports have grown at a steady pace and over the past decade, export of organic products have grown from USD 213 million in 2012-13 to USD 494.80 million in 2023 -24.

The main export destinations include the USA, European Union, Canada, UK, Switzerland, Australia, middle east and Asian countries.

The major export items are cereals and millets, processed food, tea, spices, dry fruits, sugar, medicinal plant products, pulses, coffee, oil cake/meal, and oil seeds.

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