Bangkok, Thailand, will host Southeast Asia’s largest packaging and processing trade show, ProPak Asia 2011 (June 15-18), and with the strong growth showing up throughout the region, the show serves as an entry point to this increasingly important market.

“China receives a great deal of recognition in the global marketplace — and for good reason — but Asia as a whole is seeing a lot of growth,” said Jorge Izquierdo, vice president of market development, PMMI. “Southeast Asia accounts for  9 percent of the world’s population, and with 600 million consumers to satisfy, it’s a market primed for international expansion.”

Thailand has an $8.8 billion packaging market and relies heavily on imports, with only 20 percent of the market supplied by domestic machinery manufacturers. As the world’s top producer of food packaging, it’s home to more than 9,000 food processors that support the $500 million food processing industry.

Both packaging and processing are seeing double digit growth in Thailand — 10–15 percent annually for the packaging industry and 15–20 percent annually in procession.

“Despite recent global economic concerns, Southeast Asia has remained a healthy outlet for packaging machinery exporters,” Izquierdo added.

To help members take advantage of this growth opportunity, the PMMI Pavilion at ProPak Asia 2011 provides for preferential booth selection and space rates.

Jason Bian, PMMI China Office manager, has the information you need about ProPak Asia and other opportunities throughout the continent: jbian@pmmi.org.