E-Paper
Export of AYUSH products is on the rise, says AYUSH minister Naik
India exports AYUSH products to about 100 countries
India’s Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) products are gaining popularity world over, shows government data.
AYUSH minister Shripad Yesso Naik in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Friday informed that the total worth of exports of AYUSH products, including extracts of medicinal herbs, has gone up from $352.93 in 2014-15 to $ 403.59 already in 2016-17.
“India exports to about 100 countries, as Ayurveda medicines to a few countries and as dietary supplements, nutraceuticals and herbal supplements to the other countries,” said Naik in Parliament.
“The demand for AYUSH products is gradually increasing in foreign countries.”
To further increase the pace of export, the ministry of AYUSH offers incentives to the AYUSH industry under its Central Sector Scheme for International Cooperation to get market authorization and registration for their products at regulatory bodies of different countries such as USFDA/EMEA/UK-MHRA/ NHPD/ TGA etc.
The ministry also offers incentives to enhance their exports for participation in international exhibitions, trade fairs, road shows etc., and to create awareness about the efficacy of their products.
Department of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry also provides support for enhancing export of traditional medicines through Pharmexcil by giving opportunity to small and medium scale companies for facilitating business meetings and also providing a global platform to showcase their products.
Pharmexcil organises Buyer-Sellers and Reverse Buyer-Sellers Meets focused on AYUSH and AYUSH related products.
In its bid to globalise AYUSH, the ministry has signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in the field of traditional medicine with 10 countries including China, Trinidad & Tobago, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mongolia and Hungary.
MoUs are also signed between six institutes at the individual level to promote traditional medicine that includes universities in Germany, Canada and US.
In a first, AYUSH ministry organized a two-day BRICS wellness workshop at Bengaluru to exchange expertise in traditional medicine last year.
“The strategy is to get Ayurvedic products acknowledged as medicines, then begin training practitioners abroad and eventually get the permission to practice Ayurveda independently in the world,” a ministry official had said.
