SMEs in Africa face stiff competition for their products due to poor packaging, hence the need for quality processing and packaging to remain competitive, according to regional entrepreneurs.

Manufacturers across the region met in Rwanda in an international conference to discuss possible solutions on sustainable packaging for competitiveness and development of SMEs in the East African region.

The three-day meeting ended on Tuesday.

In an interview with The New Times, the executive director of Rwanda Chamber of Industry, Chantal Umuraza, said that there is need to harmonise the packaging materials putting into consideration the regions, nature, environment and culture.

"Some countries in the region do not manufacture packaging materials while food industries depend on imported and expensive packaging materials,” she said.

"EAC has a growing food and manufacturing sector that requires inexpensive packaging materials so as to bring down production costs and make locally manufactured products competitive.”

She advised member states to use common raw materials such as sisal, banana fibres, water hyacinth and papyrus for packaging. 

She called on the EAC countries to emulate Rwanda and impose a ban on the manufacturing and use of plastic bags, as part of the harmonisation of systems regarding packaging.

Mpoko Bokanga the head of Agri Business Development Unit at UNIDO is the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) argues that poor packaging is the leading cause of high levels of food losses recorded in the African countries that has led to food insecurity. 

"Packaging is a major means of competition, poor and inadequate packaging is the main reason why an estimated 80 percent of consumer goods sold in African supermarkets are imported,” he says.

UNIDO is working a packaging initiative for the SME development and competitiveness.