India's food packaging market to reach USD 18 billion by 2020

The event, which was held on 20-21 January 2016, at The Leela in Mumbai saw 150 packaging professionals under one roof devising plans to meet the increasing demand of the food packaging sector.

 

Saha attributed the credit of this growth story to the fruit and vegetable segments. "At present, the domestic packaging industry is ranked 11th in the world. Food packaging is 45 to 50 percent of the total packaging industry," added Saha.

 

The growth in food packaging is therefore, to rise by almost 50 percent.

 

It is becoming increasingly important to develop an integrated system of packaging which is cost effective, has all the functional properties and makes it effective for distribution. To address these issues and many more, the two-day national conference revolved around new developments in the packaging materials, techniques and systems that open up new possibilities and opportunities for marketing products and reduce cost.

 

Highlighting the need of food safety through packaging, Saha said, "The trend today is more towards fast-selling. Now, keeping the optimum shelf life as the base reference, we have to select a package which is cost-efficient and has optimum functional properties.” He added, “Another important aspect of packaging today is consumer safety. It has become a big issue in the food industry. The product being packed should not react to the package.”