Can Ayush industry get a greater share of world healthcare market in 2022?

By Avinash Prabhakar
New Delhi, Jan 1 (IANS)
India’s Ayush industry is expanding globally and its market size has grown significantly during the last two years of the Covid pandemic as the domestic trends re-established the traditional system of medicine, nearer mainstream medicines. But can it, and especially, its major constituent ayurveda, capture a bigger share in the global wellness market?
Ayush, which combines ayurveda, yoga, unani, siddha – all indigenous to India and among the world’s oldest healthcare systems – and homeopathy, touts a holistic approach to health,
Ayurveda, central to the Ayush, is among the world’s oldest traditional medical practice, but is beyond it, stressing the requirement of healthy and natural lifestyle, and an organic interconnectedness among body, mind, and spirit.
The approach of Ayush systems which aims at immunity promoting interventions as an effective, safer, accessible, and affordable way is the reason for their increased use globally during the pandemic.
India’s AYUSH has reported tremendous growth in the last few years because of growing global and domestic demand, enabled by research and development in the sector. According to a report from Ayush Ministry, with a turnover of $18.1 billion, the market size of the Indian AYUSH industry, as a whole, has grown by 17 per cent during 2014-2020.
Among its different product segments, plant derivatives experienced 21 per cent growth in the same period, followed by nutraceuticals (20.5 per cent), pharmaceuticals (15.8 per cent), plant extracts 14.7 per cent and herbal plants (14.3 per cent) as per the report.
The Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) report titled ‘AYUSH Sector in India: Prospects and Challenges’, says that in terms of the global share, India has grown faster in the AYUSH market as compared to the world and accounts for about 2.8 per cent of the market, which is likely to hold even though disruptions in production are not ruled out.
“According to the RIS report, the market size of AYUSH in India has registered a growth of 17 per cent between 2014 and 2020. Despite the global slowdown in economic activity in 2020, the market for AYUSH is estimated to reach $23.3 billion in 2022. Research and research in the Ayush sector is also being promoted with more comprehensive results to be revealed soon,” said the ministry’s media advisor, Sanjay Dev.
The Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical Corporation Ltd (IMPCL), the public sector manufacturing unit of the Ayush Ministry, has recorded a turnover of Rs 164.33 crore (tentative) for financial year 2020-21. This is the highest in the company’s history and an all-time high profit of approximately Rs 12 crore is reported for the year.
In 2019-20, the company’s revenue was Rs 97 crore, as per the ministry.
Ayurveda sector in India has registered 17 per cent growth which is consistent with the growth trajectory of the global ayurveda Industry. As estimated by the International Market Analysis Research and Consulting Group, the ayurveda market is expected to grow by around 15 per cent during 2020-2025. The study has estimated the global market size of the herbal sector which was estimated at $657.5 billion in 2020 and is likely to touch $746.9 billion by 2022.
According to the Data Bridge Market Research study, the global herbal medicinal market is expected to reach $426.43 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 5.34 per cent during 2021-2028. Available market research on herbal and ayurveda medicine sector says that ayurveda constitutes a small portion of the total herbal market, but its growth potential is much higher.
The global traditional and complementary medicine market has been valued at around $360 billion. However, only a minor share of that market gos to ayurveda, between $7.2 billion-$9.6 billion.
The rising interest in ayurveda showcases potential of Indian medicine systems to be a global leader with a proper strategic vision and operational efficiency in the sector.
(Avinash Prabhakar can be reached at Avinash.p@ians.in)

- Advertisement -