The Philippine Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) said it expects ProPak Philippines to come up with new technologies on packaging that will help the pharmaceutical industry address its problems, particularly on the packaging cost, which it said is a “big component” of the cost of medicine.
“Give us more efficient packaging materials that is up to what the size of industry right now, dun sa mga packaging materials na mas mura, yet mae-ensure ’yung integrity and safety and stability of the product,” PPMA President Higinio Porte Jr. said during a news briefing of ProPak Philippines in Makati City on Tuesday.
“Kasi a big component of the cost of medicine is more on the packaging process and packaging material, mas mura pa nga minsan ‘yung raw materials eh lalo na dun sa liquids, karamihan nun tubig, so a big portion of the cost is on the packaging materials and packaging process,” Porte explained.
Porte told reporters on the sidelines of the news briefing that of the total manufacturing cost of medicine, about 30 percent goes to the cost of the packaging material.
With this, Porte told ProPak Philippines, “We expect new technologies that will address, give solutions to our problems, to become more efficient in the manufacturing and less cost.”
Porte told the BusinessMirror in a text message, “Rising cost of packaging material is global in scale, which is affected by rising cost of fuel and the strengthening of dollar. Though some packaging materials are locally produced but the starting materials are imported, thus the rise in cost of producing them.”
He added that this could be mitigated by “pooled ordering” or the higher quantity of orders covering several months so that there would be a volume discount.
On Tuesday, ProPak Philippines, as organized by Informa Markets, said in a news statement that it is making a comeback in February 2023, to gather industries engaged in the latest packaging and processing technologies and the business community.
According to Informa Markets, ProPak Philippines will highlight innovations and advancements in processing, manufacturing, and packaging technology, connecting international suppliers to local and regional buyers in food, drink, and pharmaceutical industries.
Informa markets said joining the event are companies engaged in processing machinery, technology, and materials in the sectors of filling, quality assurance, testing and measurement, maintenance, and their related fields of automation, instrumentation, transportation, refrigeration, storage, and pollution control. Also represented are businesses involved in labeling, printing, water treatment equipment, plastics processing, and wrapping machinery.
The three-day exhibition will also feature training courses from the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP); packaging consultations for MSMEs, talks and workshops in manufacturing and packaging, led by DTI, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) with its Packaging Technology Division (PTD), PROMAP, and the Active and Intelligent Packaging Industry Association (AIPIA).
Among the early-confirmed exhibitors are the Miura Singapore Co. Pte. Ltd.; Krirub Industrial Sales; Formway Trading & Services Inc.; Buhler Philippines Inc.; Rieckermann Machinery & Industrial Solutions; Aumpack Inc.; Conveying and Packaging Co. Inc.; Wolf Packaging Machines Co., Ltd.; Loopex Packaging Products Inc.; Elixir Industrial Equipment Inc.; Victorious Team Provider Corporation; and the VCP Trading International Corp.