At the 2012 GlobalPack International Packaging Conference held from 24 to 27 July 2012 in the Philippines, the industry experts said that local packaging industry must be on par with international standards by keeping tabs on trends continuously, lookout for new technologies and try out new designs.
The conference was initiated by Central Philippine University (CPU) in partnership with Systemat-PackEDGE. CPU started the development of packaging in the Philippines and established the Philippine Center for Packaging Engineering and Technology recently.
CPU Packaging Engineering Department coordinator Bernie Cangrejo said a new roadmap is being called for export packaging that will identify opportunities, follow market trends and take advantage of the increase in Asian economies.
According to the data revealed by the National Statistics Office, since 2009 the export packaging industry has been growing steadily reaching about P163.2m ($4m) at the end of 2011and total merchandise exports in 2011 amounted to P48bn ($1.14m).
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) pushed for the increase in international marketability of local products by improving packaging and shipping methods.
The Philippines government has been focusing on packaging among products that are manufactured by small and medium-scale enterprises, in an attempt to give local entrepreneurs a chance in the international market.
