“This time, consumers are less as compared to last year because of the old currency ban” – Priya Sharma

Delhi hosted BioFach India from 10-12 November. TFT’s City correspondent NEETU NIGAM  met with Priya Sharma, Project Manager at The Nurnberg Messe India and spoke with her. excerpts of the exclusive interview follows.

TFT: What is BioFach and a bit about the background of the event, organiser ?
Priya : BioFach is an exclusive organic exhibition organised since last 26 years in China, Brazil, Japan, India and US.. The show was launched in India in the year 2009.
Biofach is the only organic exhibition in the sector. The show is organised by Nurnberg Messe , one of biggest organisers from Germany.

TFT: if you can throw light on the display and previous Indian editions ?
Priya : On display is all about organic products such as food, beverages, spices, pickles, textiles, natural and wellness beauty products. The first appearance took place in Mumbai and we repeated the show again in Mumbai in 2010. Then we went to Bangalore for three years in 2011-13. Then show took place in Kerala in 2014-15 and in 2016 we are here in Delhi, with next year scheduled for Greater Noida.

TFT : How is the response in the city?
Priya : Our experience is usual. Exhibitors are very glad. Being the national capital Delhi receives visitors from across the city and country. We have 21 International and 10 Indian buyers.

TFT : There has been talk about ifoam Organic World Congress coming to India ?
Priya : Ifoam Organic World Congress is scheduled to take place in 2017. Actually, this event occurs once in three years.
Every three years, sector stakeholders come together at the OWC,the world’s largest and most significant organic gathering, to discuss and deliberate the issues of the day.
The 19th edition of the Organic World Congress (OWC) taking place from 09 -11 November 2017 in Greater Noida.

TFT : How many organic producers are exhibiting at BioFach?
Priya : There are nearly 170 exhibitors. We have introduced all certified private companies. There are state governments also like Andhra Pradesh & Haryana etc.

TFT: Is this appearance only for Indian organic producers, no any overseas exhibitors?
Priya : No, this is an International exhibition and there are three overseas exhibitors from Japan, France and Italy.

TFT : if you can let the readers know about the footfall ?
Priya : The over all footfall should be around four thousand trade visitors in addition to consumers at the show. This time, consumers are less as compared to last year because of the new growth (old money ban) Rates among the highest in the nation.

Priya : The farmers are here but of-coarse not in great numbers , may be because Delhi doesn’t have much of farmers population. However, very active involvement is seen when we organise a show in Karnataka and Kerala.

TFT : What is the difference between such shows in india and Europe ?
Priya :Difference between Indian and European rural areas is that Europe much advance in organic industry compared to India. There are millions of people engaged in business related with organic products. Yes, India is picking up very fast now. May be five years back, nobody knew much about the organic products in India but now everyone knows about it.

TFT : the organic products are still our of reach of the comon man due to price difference, your take on this ?
Priya : Actually, I don’t agree with this affirmation. The prices are not much different, but there is a deviation between the price because growing organic feed is more expensive than the regular feeding process. That’s one reason of the organic prices being high.

TFT : Is government extending satisfactory support for the sector ?
Priya : Yes, the sector is receiving a positive support from the government, like in this year government sanctioned additional budget and a scheme for the diligence, announced by the PM himself. I think Central Government is already taking right steps towards the growth of organic sector.

TFT : How do you see Indian exhibitions sector in Asia ?
Priya :India is a considered to be one of the top contenders for businesses , major international markets are looking at India as one of the most important marketplace in Asia.