THE Dow Chemical Company has started penetrating Nigeria and other markets in ECOWAS region with 1.3 million tons of the latest technology in plastic packaging products – plastic wraps and pouch.

The company has also estimated that the plastics industry in Nigeria and the entire Africa is worth $20 million (about N7bn) and growing at six percent per annum. Dow asserted that the use of plastic wraps and pouch for packaging food , beverages and agricultural products is the latest innovation that is fast replacing rigid plastics for packaging meat, milk, banana, sugar among other consumable products from factories and farms.

Speaking to VANGUARD in Johannesburg, Diego Donoso, Global Business President for Dow’s Packaging and Speciality Plastics, said that plastics wrap and pouch are fastly replacing their rigid counterparts such as glass bottles, gallons that are more difficult to recycle. “Flexible plastic packaging is often the most efficient when it comes to reducing food spoilage and waste.

They can extend the shelf life of food from three days to fourteen days in store, with in-store waste reduced from an average 3 percent to less than one per cent,” he disclosed.

According to him, to better meet the demand for plastic products in Nigeria and other markets in the region, Dow entered a joint venture with Saudi Aramco in 2011 to construct the world’s largest integrated petrochemical plant ever built in a single phase to provide 1..3 million tons of high performance plastic products into Nigeria and the rest of ECOWAS market as a growth strategy. Fielding questions on the expansion of Dow’s office in Lagos recently , he said “ Nigeria is key market for the packaging industry with almost 50 percent of the population living in urban areas and a new generation of consumers driving GDP growth which is expected to reach $294 billion by 2020. “

Also speaking, Carsten Larsen, Managing Director Dow Southern Africa, added, ”We tailored our products to be relevant to the local markets.“

Javier Constante, Commercial Director for Dow business in EMEA, corroborated that 1/3 of food produced around the world is wasted because they are not properly packaged from the factory to the end users. “ Flexible plastic packaging is the solution to food waste. “ Similarly, Sami Mainich, Sales Director for Dow Packaging and Speciality Plastics Middle East, Africa and Turkey, stated: “We are a growth business in a growing region. In 2012, Dow opened its West African office in Ghana and followed by the office in Nigeria in June last year. “

Dana Mosora, Sustainability Director for Dow business in Europe, Middle East and Africa, said that the company is advancing the world to transistor to a circular economy where waste is designed into new products and services.

He said: “The circular economy would focus on reducing food waste, improving resources efficiency and increasing recyclabilities as well as work with initiatives globally to address marine debris.”

Vanguard learned that Dow has over 6000 category of plastic products being manufactured in 179 sites in 35 countries across the globe. Last year, the company grossed $49 billion annual sales and employed 8 staff in Nigeria , 49,500 worldwide.

 

Source : vanguardngr.com

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