Major packaging survey announced for UAE

The project is being undertaken in partnership with IMES Consulting, an internationally renown B2B research organisation with over 25 years experience in the region.

Commenting on behalf of IMPZ, Mohammed Binghalib, Project Director, said that obtaining accurate information about this highly dynamic sector is vital. "We are targeting the packaging industry with dedicated facilities at our new 43 million square feet development. Packaging has become such a critical element of media in our growing and increasingly competitive region. Providing the industry with sound information about the regional market opportunities is part and parcel of gaining inward investment."

Gulf Pack's International Project Manager Sharla Hancock said "we are delighted to be providing the industry with a truly valuable reference. For the first time we will be able to quantify trends, values and volumes rather than making educated guesses. It's excellent for the industry and we're delighted to lead this initiative with IMPZ and IMES. "

With a global market value of US $ 485 Billion, of which US $ 25 Billion is associated to packaging machinery, the industry is sited as one of the most important in the world. According to the World Packaging Organisation (WPO), the market is growing at around 4% globally, but the figure is anticipated to be substantially more in the Middle East and the UAE.

The Stockholm based Secretary General of the WPO, Carl Olsmats, welcomed the UAE initiative. "The Middle East region is a very dynamic and fast developing packaging market. Current market knowledge is however very limited and scattered, which may slow down the pace of development. Hence, WPO sincerely welcomes the initiative to carry out the first comprehensive packaging survey in the UAE", he said.

The scope of the survey will embrace all aspects of the consumer packaging market for product groups such as the dairy sector, beverages, biscuits, confectionery, snacks and edible oils. Household products and personal care items will also feature.

The survey will look at many types of packaging including flexible, laminated cartons, metal, glass and specialist packaging for products like ice cream. Plastic containers, blow-moulded bottles and closures will also feature in the study.

Market volumes and values will be provided for each sector along with issues effecting growth and decline. The survey will include a breakdown of use by end user industry, profile main users and provide a broad description of their importance from an import and export perspective.

Sources of packaging material will be another component of the project, profiling both locally manufactured options as well as imports. It also aims to reveal market opportunities and provide an outlook on future trends.

Visitors to Gulf Pack 2005, set for Dubai 11-14 December, will be offered a first glimpse of the results when IMES's Managing Director, David Edwards, presents the findings of the project in a unique seminar. IMES will then be offering copies of the survey for sale at the show.