Vietnam's leading international processing and packaging exhibition, Propak Vietnam, opened March 31 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Organised by Singapore Exhibition Services and local partner VCCI Exhibition Services to serve the then new and upcoming processing and packaging industry, Propak Vietnam 2015 marks its 10th anniversary this year.

This year's event not only showcases many new technologies and equipment but also offers networking opportunities for industry professionals.

The three-day exhibition has attracted 267 companies from 28 countries and regions, with foreign exhibitors occupying 79 percent of the 6,000sq.m of exhibiting area.

There are eight international pavilions representing Germany, the Republic of Korea, Italy, Japan, Taiwan (China), Singapore and Thailand.

Bruna Santarelli, Trade Commissioner at the Italian Trade Commission in Vietnam, told Viet Nam News that her country's 11 best plastics and packaging manufacturers were taking part.

The Italian firms featured at this year's exhibition include experienced manufacturers of an array of packaging machinery for extrusion lines, thermoforming, multi-layer blown film lines, pasteurising, filling, cleaning, labelling, and palletising.

The Italian businesses will showcase their home country's engineering ingenuity and their latest developments to manufacturers in Vietnam.

Italian design remains among the most sought internationally and the government of Vietnam believes that applying this technology in Vietnam is integral to meeting its widely stated goal of industrialisation by 2020.

This Italian-Vietnamese partnership has been working well and the future looks bright.

Last year Italy's packaging exports to Vietnam were worth 23.4 million EUR (25.2 million USD).

BT Tee deputy chief representative of Singapore Exhibition Services' representative office in Vietnam, said: "The future for producers and exporters in Vietnam is bright.

"In 2014 Vietnam became the largest exporter to the USA, ahead of ASEAN's more established manufacturing bases.”

There will be a seminar titled "Vietnam - Food Safety, Green Packaging and Eco Manufacturing" to discuss some burning issues in Vietnam.

Propak Vietnam will go on until April 2, attracting an estimated 7,600 visitors.-VNA