ProPak, the international packaging and processing trade event, returns to the Philippines on Feb. 5 – 7, at World Trade Center, Pasay City.

ProPak Philippines expects 12,000 international and local visitors and 450 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions. Last year, ProPak Philippines hosted more than 300 exhibitors from 30 countries, with about 9,000 attendees who were presented with the latest in packaging technologies, supply chain management, and other processing operations for food processing, pharmaceuticals, FMCG (fast moving consumer goods), agro-industries, cosmetics, and many more.

Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato dela Peña emphasized the need to focus on developing packaging technologies that could benefit all sectors.

“Packaging plays a critical role in our lives, in our society and economy. It is given a greater role in business, food security, and environmental issues. Technological advancements and innovations have also helped widen the relevance and reach of the packaging industry,” Dela Peña said in his keynote address at the Asia Packaging Network (APN) International Packaging Symposium held recently at the Dusit Hotel in Makati City.

ProPak comes at a time of strong growth and consumption in the economy, GDP grew by 6.2 percent in Q3 2019, backed by the service sector which grew to 6.9 percent, the industrial sector, by 5.6 percent, and the agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing sectors by 3.1 percent (third quarter, year-on-year).

Household final consumption had also increased to 8.42 percent this year, indicating an increased demand for FMCGs and services. The domestic food retail market is expected to close 2019 with a total sales value of US$50B—a 5.4 percent increase from last year’s US$47.4B while food service industry is expected to reach a value of PHP 656.5B in revenue by 2021.

Sales of fish and fish products are forecasted to grow by an average of 11.2 percent a year through to 2021.

Coffee, tea, and other hot drinks will see robust growth averaging 10.3 percent a year through to 2021, to reach PHP223.0B while sales of carbonated drinks are expected to grow 10.2 percent annually to 2021.

In pharmaceuticals, over the counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals amounted to $661M USD in revenue this year; the market is seen to expand 2.1 percent annually until 2023.

Another area of growth is e-commerce. Because of a continuously increasing usage of digital tools and ICTs, the e-commerce market in the country is forecasted to grow at 12.0 percent from 2018 to 2022—with an expected market value of US$1.322B by 2022—the largest shares being fashion, electronics, food, and personal care.

ProPak Philippines 2020 is supported by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Packaging Institute of the Philippines (PIP), the Philippine Association of Food Technologists, Inc. (PAFT, Inc.), Dairy Confederation of the Philippines (DairyCon), Philippine Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA), Production Management Association of The Philippines (PROMAP), Philippine Printing Technical Foundation (PPTF) and Association of Laguna Food Processors Inc. (ALAFOP).