In Ghana, poor packaging has been identified as one of the major reasons affecting locally manufactured goods not competing favourably with imported goods or being accepted on the international market.
The situation has compelled the Institute of Packaging Ghana to charge players in the industry to invest more in packaging to enable their products to meet international standards.
In furtherance of this, the Institute has organised five-day trainers of trainees workshop on the fundamentals of packaging Technology in Accra.
The President of the Institute Kwasi Abaidoo asked manufacturers to be innovative with their packaging so that their products will not be rejected by consumers, especially at the global level.
Ghanaian products find it difficult to make the mark on the international market due to poor packaging, labelling and the inability of export-oriented companies to meet local and international export specifications.
These challenges, continue to affect the growth of businesses President of the Institute of Packaging Ghana, Kwasi Abaidoo expressed worry about products which do not meet basic requirements and therefore do not appeal to the taste of consumers. He asked manufacturers not to pay lip service to packaging.
Kofi Essuman who is with the Institute of Packaging Ghana said the Institute gets complaints about the attractiveness of products on the market as well as
Environmental sustainability.
Environmental sustainability.
He mentioned some of the criteria to bear in mind when dealing with packaging.
The Trainers of Trainees workshop is being organised by the Institute of Packaging, Ghana under the auspices of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) in collaboration with the Department of Food Process Engineering of the University of Ghana with support from the BUSAC Fund.
The five-day training will equip the participants from the packaging industry, training institutes, regulatory bodies such as the Food and Drugs Authority and representative of trade associations with the requisite knowledge and skills in effective packaging to deliver essential services to small and medium enterprises to enhance the quality of their products and improve their market competitiveness.