HCM City (VNA) – The packaging industry is expected to grow at 12.3% a year until next year, according to the Vietnam Packaging Association.

The growth is driven by the growth in F&B, consumer goods, exports, and e-commerce.

The Vietnamese market offers huge opportunities to foreign investors, according to Khieu Duy Hai, director of market research and consulting of FiinGroup.

The industry posted average growth of 11% a year in 2017-21, and achieved revenues of 13.2 billion USD last year, he told a recent seminar in Ho Chi Minh City.

The industry has four segments — plastic, paper, corrugated, and glass packaging – with plastic holding the largest share, according to Hai.

Knowing the long-term growth potential of the Vietnamese market, many foreign investors have been entering the market and expanding via mergers and acquisitions.

Green packaging has huge growth potential due to the EPR (extended producer responsibility) scheme that encourages packaging producers to manage collection, sorting and recycling of the packaging they send into the market, the Environment Protection Law and CSR commitments by producers.

Nguyen Ngoc Minh Thy, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Packaging Association, said the industry was making efforts to accelerate digital transformation and automation of manufacturing to improve its efficiency and product quality.

It was also catching up with key trends in global packaging materials and designs, with a focus on green and sustainable development, they said./.