HÀ NỘI — The packaging industry for processed food in Việt Nam will grow by 38 per cent between 2015 and 2020, while the demand for machinery and materials will also increase by 25 per cent.

The prediction was made by the German Engineering Federation in a technical seminar for the packaging and printing industries held in Hà Nội today.

In recent years, the packaging and printing industries in Việt Nam have grown significantly with average growth rate of 15-20 per cent annually.

Expansion of industrial production has contributed to the growth of industrial packaging and label printing in the country, according to the Việt Nam Printing Association.

Nearly 1,500 industrial packaging-printing enterprises are operating nationwide with total revenue of more than US$2 billion per year.

However, according to experts, one of the challenges for the industry in Việt Nam is that the technology is not very developed and the design is simple, making it impossible for enterprises to actively participate in the value chain and create sustainable profit.

The leading solutions to improve this sector in Việt Nam are the application of new technologies in manufacturing, using new materials, investing in advanced production lines to increase efficiency and assuring quality of products.

“Technology is considered as the key for the packaging and printing industries to move further in the global context. Vietnamese producers should focus on applying the latest technologies from Europe, the United States or other parts of Asia to stay competitive in this sector,” Gernot Ringling, managing director of Germany’s Messe Düsseldorf Asia Pte Ltd said.

The seminar was organised by the German Industry and Commerce Việt Nam, in co-operation with Messe Düsseldorf Asia Pte Ltd to introduce technical developments for printing and packaging, solutions for smart packaging, importance of workflows in a modern print environment, and diversification and individualisation as the future of high-end packaging embellishment.

It attracted the participation of nearly 200 domestic enterprises in the fields of packaging and printing. — VNS