Dr Liberatori: Italy is the largest exporter of packaging machinery to India

This was one of many insights shared by Dr Alessandro Liberatori, Italian trade commissioner, embassy of Italy, New Delhi and coordinator of Italian trade commission offices for India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka, during his speech at the inauguration of ProPak India 2021.  Speaking at the event, Dr Liberatori said that 'the Packaging Industry in Italy was valued at USD 9.57 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 11.99 billion by 2026, at a compound annual growth rate of 3.6% over the forecast period 2021 - 2026 (Modor intelligence report)'. 

He also quoted the Italian Institute of Packaging and said that Italy is one of the world leaders in packaging machinery, with a world market share of 25.5%. "The Italian automatic packaging machinery sector is one of the most dynamic Italian industries with a turnover of over 6 billion euro. It is one of the Italian sectors with the highest export propensity (more than 80%). It consists of some 200-250 industrial-sized companies and around 300 production units with artisanal characteristics. More than 50% of all automatic packaging machinery sold worldwide is Italian or German," added Dr Liberatori.

Dr Alessandro Liberatori, Italian trade commissioner, embassy of Italy

He also mentioned that the food sector absorbs most of the packaging machinery produced (which accounts for around 60% of the industry's turnover) and pharmaceutics, cosmetics and toiletries (just under 25%). The rest is used in various sectors, particularly tobacco, chemicals/petrochemicals and tissues.

The Italian Trade Agency (ICE in Italian) is active in India since 1971. It has two main offices in the Subcontinent in New Delhi and Mumbai, acting as Trade promotion sections of the Italian Embassy and the Consulate General of Italy. The principal function of our offices is to foster bilateral trade between India and Italy by providing Indian entrepreneurs and companies with information on Italian products, companies and market updates. The office in New Delhi acts as the coordinating structure for the entire Indian market.