MITC dangles producers on quality packaging to attract bankable markets

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Valued added products coupled with quality packaging are said to be recipe for bankable markets, it has been learnt.

This is the area Malawi industrial sector is unable to invest in order to fetch reliable markets for their products.

It’s this reason Malawi Investment and Trade Center (MITC) this week persuaded local companies to improve on packaging their products.

MITC’s Chief Executive Officer, Clement Kumbemba told The Maravi Post in an interview after a capacity-building for producers and exporters in the capital Lilongwe that time was ripen for Malawi to fetch more Forex through packaged products.

The workshop aimed at identifying the various challenges holding back the country’s producers and exporters in meeting demands of international markets with their products.

Kumbemba observed that Malawi was losing billion of kwacha in Forex through improper packaging.

“Our research has revealed that sometimes people lose markets because of poor packaging now we are saying that let’s improve on packaging so we need to overcome on the issues of packaging.

“That is why MITC organized this workshop to equip producers and exporters with skills that will be required for their products to be certified as of good quality. These factors negatively affect the products’ competitiveness at international markets within the region and worldwide,” said Kumbemba.

In his remarks, Dr. Joseph Mkadawire Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, said the ministry expect producers and exporters to improve their products.

Dr. Mkandawire said will support MITC in its quest of impacting knowledge in packaging and quality standards.

He said Malawi can penetrate international market if its products are of the high quality and well graded and create employment.

“To penetrate the international market, there has to be good grading and packaging of our products before export.

“The message to Malawians is that they need to know what should be expected of the country’s products to meet international market standards,” said Mkandawire.

The conference covered including packaging development and design, packaging industry sectors and opportunities of the packaging sectors.