CRITICAL ISSUES OF FOOD SAFETY, SECURITY AND SUSTAINABILITY IN CHALLENGE TO FEED GLOBAL POPULATION

Tetra Pak CEO highlights crucial role of dairy sector and optimum packaging solutions in keynote address at Gulfood Manufacturing 2014

DUBAI / Lahore (12 November 2014): With the world’s population expected to rise from 7.2 billion in 2013 to 9.6 billion by 2050, the challenge of food security, food safety and sustainable food systems is at the top of government agendas around the world. According to Tetra Pak’s President and CEO Dennis Jönsson during his keynote presentation at the Gulfood Manufacturing Food and Beverage Industrial Investment Summit in Dubai this week, the dairy sector will play a crucial role in meeting global needs.

Global demand for dairy, widely considered to provide more essential nutrients in significant amounts than any other single food, is being driven by economic growth, urbanisation, rising disposable incomes and a growing middle class, especially in developing countries. According to the latest Tetra Pak Dairy Index, released in September, global consumption of dairy is expected to rise by 36 percent by 2024. Global white milk consumption is forecast to grow from 212 billion litres to 223 billion litres in 2016.

“The boom in demand for dairy products, is being fuelled primarily by emerging markets, including China, India, South and South East Asia, Africa, as well as the Greater Middle East. Growth in demand for liquid milk in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia alone is expected to rise by more than 52 percent by 2024. Understanding and meeting consumer needs in these markets will unlock exciting possibilities for our industry,” said Jönsson.

As the world leader in food processing and packaging solutions, Tetra Pak delivers more than 180 billion packages of consumable products around the world. Dairy is the number one product. In addition to the need for packaging to maintain quality and freshness of products, factors such as portability, convenience, functionality, ease of use and sustainability credentials also come into play. Tetra Pak is constantly powering innovation in food processing and packaging to meet these demands.

Innovation is also driving value-engineered packaging solutions to enable manufacturers to enter new market segments to meet the needs, for example, of the 2.8 billion consumers in 67 emerging countries living on between US$2 and US$8 per day. While affordability of this consumer group is still low, companies such as Tetra Pak have developed packaging and processing systems that support low cost production and distribution to deliver nutritional foodstuffs, without compromising food safety or quality.

While market opportunity for the food processing and packaging industry in the emerging economies is undisputed, Jönsson did highlight critical areas for success. These included: increasing product differentiation to stand out on shelf; reducing the system cost of operations; meeting the environment requirements of governments, NGOs and consumers; and maintaining and ensuring the safety of food.

Tetra Pak, the world leader in food processing and packaging solutions, is showcasing its industry leadership and core focus on innovation at Gulfood Manufacturing 2014 under the theme “Innovation for Growth”. Segmented into the four areas identified as critical for most processing and packaging customers in the region, Tetra Pak is demonstrating innovative approaches that help to increase revenues, manage costs, reduce risk across the value chain, and build brand equity.

In addition, as co-hosts of Gulfood Manufacturing’s Hosted Buyer Programme, Tetra Pak has facilitated the attendance at the show of more than 2,000 customers and influential industry professionals – the single biggest programme ever to be conducted in the Middle East & Africa region.

Gulfood Manufacturing 2014 takes place from 9th – 11th November 2014 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.