Status of Local Organic Market in Nepal

Abstract

Organic market is growing globally, and the distance from sellers (usually developing countries) to buyers (developed countries) is getting more evident. This has posed problems of its own such as complications in obtaining and maintaining internationally recognized standards and following the footsteps of conventional model characterized by specialization, capital intensification, export orientation, increased processing, packaging, and long-distance transporting that is controlled by few large corporate retailers. In such scenario, importance of local organic market in developing countries cannot be underrated, which in fact is growing at a steady pace. However, information on its status remains severely lacking, which is why this study is conducted to analyze local organic market in Nepal. The study took place in two major cities of Nepal where presence of organic market is quite evident. A total of 15 categories of products were identified, cereals, vegetables, spices, pulses, oilseeds, fruits, tea, coffee, juice, wine, pickles, honey, jam, snacks, and skin care products, of which vegetables have the highest variety. While most of the organic products are sold on the basis of word of mouth, some are certified by designated agencies, while others are approved by various agencies as safe to consume. The premium is usually higher for certified organic products, but surprisingly some self-claimed organic products are found to have higher premium rate than those certified as well because of already established networks.