India in medicinal plants trade

2007-08-23T02:16:00.000-07:00

India has 15 Agroclimatic zones, 47000 different plant species and 15000 medicinal plants The Indian Systems of Medicine have identified 1500 medicinal plants, of which 500 species are mostly used in the preparation of drugs. The medicinal plants contribute to cater 80% of the raw materials used in the preparation of drugs. The effectiveness of these drugs mainly depend upon the proper use and sustained availability of genuine raw materials. The domestic market of Indian Systems of Medicine & Homoeopathy is of the order of Rs.4000 crores (2000), which is expanding day by day. The Ayurveda drug market alone is of the order of Rs. 3500 crores (2000). Besides this, there is also a growing demand for natural products including items of medicinal value/pharmaceuticals, food supplements and cosmetics in both domestic and international markets. Presently India’s export from Medicinal and Herbal plants is Rs. 446 crores (2000) only which would be raised to Rs.3000 crores annually by 2005. India, with its diversified biodiversity has a tremendous potential and advantage in this emerging area.

According to WHO report, over 80% of the world population relies on traditional medicine largely plant based for their primary healthcare needs. The EXIM bank of India, in its report (1997) has reported the value of medicinal plants related trade in India of the order of 5.5 billion US dollars and is growing rapidly. According to WHO, the international market of herbal products is estimated to be US $ 62 billion which is poised to grow to US $ 5 trillion by the year 2050. India’s share in the global export market of medicinal plants related trade is just 0.5%.

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India in medicinal plants trade