Awareness programme on packaging for export of food & handicraft products held in Dibrugarh

 A CORRESPONDENT

DIBRUGARH: A day-long awareness programme on packaging for export of food and handicraft products of Assam by the Indian Institute of Packaging, Kolkata was conducted in Dibrugarh recently. More that 200 participants from Dibrugarh and the neighbouring districts of Dhemaji, Tinsukia , Sivasagar, Jorhat and Arunachal Pradesh participated in the programme.

Speaking to reporters, Morgan Meston, General Manager, District Industries and Commerce Centre, Dibrugarh, said that the entrepreneurs of the districts are manufacturing quality products –especially tea and other food products, ethnic dresses etc. but where they are lacking is proper packaging. To substantiate his claim, he said that in the month of July, 2022, his office had invited few importers from Indian Embassy New York .

Products like hand made tea, pickles, bamboo products, ethnic dresses etc. were showcased before them. Upon having inspected the products, the importers told him that quality-wise the products were good but not export ready in terms of packaging. The quality of packaging needs to be improved if the industries are to capture pan Indian and export market.

Meston said, “This made me think to explore ways to solve this packaging-related problem of the entrepreneurs. I contacted Bidhan Das, Deputy Director and Branch Head, Indian Institute of Packaging, Kolkata immediately. He told me that to conduct such one-day awareness programmes for 150 plus participants, Rs 6 lakh would be required. The Indian Institute of Packaging , Kolkata, being an autonomus body, conducts such programme throughout the country by charging the consultation fees as it does not receive any fund from the Government of India and the salary expenses of its employees are taken care of from this consultation fees.

“As the fund could not be arranged from any other source by the General Manager, District Industries and Commerce Centre, Dibrugarh, Bidhan Das, Deputy Director, IIP, Kolkata took the initiative and got the programme approved from the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, under the Market Access Initiative Scheme (MAI).”

Meston further said, “In his 75th Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that by 2047, India will become a developed country. It is already the 5th largest economy in the world. By Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) it is the third largest economy after US and China. Even though the declaration took all the economists by surprise, yet it is realistic because India’s demography of 140 crore is its strength. The perentage of working age population of most of the developed countries will decline below 58 by 2100 but for India it will be hovering around 63%. This will give demographic dividend to India for 37 years from 2018-2055.

Besides Bidhan Das, Dr Asitava Sur, technical consultant and guest faculty of IIP, Kolkata, Viplav Jhamta, General Manager, Parksons Packaging Ltd., Kamalpur, Kamrup also participated in the programme as resource persons. Das told this correspondent, “Packaging gives informed decisions to the customers and hence should be taken care of as per government rules and regulations, especially those mandated under the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) for food products. Further, packaging adds respect and grandeur to the products which entails the manufacturer to add paramount importance to its design and description to be inscribed on the package, keeping in mind the culture and aesthetic sense of the targeted customers.”

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