Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC has linked poor packaging and labelling as the major challenges confronting Nigerian export products to overseas.
The Director, Business Development at NEPC, William Eze who spoke Tuesday in Lagos said Nigerian products destined for export, especially to US market, have been faced with poor packaging which resulted in rejections.
“A recent report says that 30 percent of our (Nigeria) exports to US are rejected as a result of poor packaging and labelling, not quality of the products,” he said.
He spoke at the 2019 Packaging, Plastics, Food processing, labelling and print exhibition in West Africa, organised by Afrocet Montgomery in Lagos, with the theme ‘Sustainability in manufacturing’ .
“Packaging and branding have been central to marketing tools both in domestic and export market,” adding that “the problem of packaging in Nigeria today is complex, because innovation keeps on changing due to the market trend of consumer demand and behaviour”
“We must also follow the business squarely as SMES or producers. Some made in-Nigeria products are faced with poor packaging which results in rejection.”
Eze therefore advised that businesses must know the system in order to be successful.
Also speaking, George Pearson, Regional Director, Afrocet Montgomery, said the continued progress in the agro-processing, packaging, printing and plastics industries in Nigeria makes the exhibition important to companies to present their innovative product solutions. The exhibition has about 200 brands from over 40 countries in attendance.
On sustainability, George Pearson said that a with global shift in plastic waste and responsible packaging, the exhibition therefore looked at various steps that Nigerian manufacturers were taking to reduce plastic waste and how standards were being implemented.
