Schneider: Africa’s middle class a top packaging prospect

The growth centres for packaging are shifting, with Africa destined to bypass even India and China as its population grows and matures, says World Packaging Organisation president Thomas Schneider.

Africa has the most arable land suited to farming of any region, Schneider says, meaning with the right packaging and supply chain know-how, and by achieving their population growth forecasts for 2050, African countries should be able to export across the world market.

Speaking at the 2014 AIP National Packaging Conference in Sydney, he says, “Right now Africa’s population is somewhere just beyond 600 million people, and by 2050 the UN says it will be about 1.9 billion. Most of that growth will come from Sub-Saharan Africa. That’s a lot of people, who will require more food and more packaging.

“As these countries grow, and this is true of India and China, the middle class will grow in leaps and bounds, lifting people out of poverty. That is where the packaging opportunity is: in food, beverage and electronics. This is why the WPO is so involved in packaging education in developing countries.”

To help Africa’s developing countries adopt better packaging practices, the WPO has so far assisted in setting up institutes and professional societies in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania.

Schneider says the first step towards building the foundation for a packaging boom in Africa is to educate people about its benefits.

He says, “We need to raise awareness, certainly in Kenya and I hope surrounding countries as well, about the importance and value of packaging in terms of food quality and safety, and its contribution to keeping people healthy.

“It is just at the beginning stages, but we are seeing some positive things coming out of our programmes in those countries. In 2050 we will be seeing a much different Africa.”

Rick Fox, president and CEO of FOX IV Technologies and a fellow keynote speaker, adds that packaging manufacturers from Western countries like the US and Europe are already making the shift to future lands of opportunity like African nations.

He says, “Either PNG or General Mills made a presentation to us in the US a couple of years ago. It got everyone’s attention in the packaging equipment room. They said, we are installing 21 plants next year, and not one of the will be in the United States; we are going with the market.

“We are seeing a move out of the US and into different regions because of some of the cost structures, especially associated with energy. Things are moving.

“The US is pretty much saturated in terms of packaging manufacturers. I wouldn’t say the market is done growing, but most companies looking to grow are talking about going elsewhere, to places like Africa.”

Schneider adds that the US population is expected to continue to grow from its current 320-330 million people by another 30 or 40 per cent to 2050 – by which time India may be the largest country in the world. He says China’s relaxation of the One Child policy may spur some growth, while Western Europe, on the other hand, is expected to decline.

Pierre Pienaar, the WPO’s new vice president of education, will travel to Nigeria and Ghana this year to deliver packaging technology training programmes.

 

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