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| Sunday, 27 July 2003 |
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Packaging industry events gather momentum The Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging (SLIP) has appealed to its membership and industrialists in the food trade to attend the Asian Packaging Federation (APF) Congress, scheduled to take place from August 7 to 10 in Colombo. "The knowledge they gather would benefit themselves and the national economy," APF and SLIP President, Dharmatillake Ratnayake said. Over 10 technical papers would be presented by specialists from countries such as the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka, 40 per cent of fruits and vegetables are lost, from the time of harvest to the time of consumption, due to lack of proper packaging. Though attempts to overcome this waste have been made for over 40 years, nothing tangible has been achieved. Ratnayake told a media briefing that some of the papers to be presented at the APF Congress will be on post-harvest packaging, food packaging and marketing, gift packaging for niche markets and the Indian experience of food packaging for emerging markets. He said the concept of supermarkets is spreading fast in the country and a specialist from Singapore would present a paper on 'Packaging for Supermarkets'. The APF Congress will coincide with the APF Annual Sessions where 14 countries in the Asia Pacific region will participate. The sessions will coincide with a 'Pro Food-Pro Pack' exhibition, organised by SLIP and the Sri Lanka Food Processors Association. The exhibition will include those from packaging and food-based industries and machinery, equipment and material suppliers from here and abroad. Forty one out of the 43 stalls are already sold out. Around 50 participants from APF member countries and 300 local participants are expected. Most member nations have sent in entries for Asian Star Awards. The judging for this contest, to honour excellence in packaging among the 17 APF nations, will take place during the sessions and the awards will be made at its conclusion, National Packaging Centre, Executive Director, J.D. Amarasooriya said. |
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