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Press release n. 8, December 2008

PET FOOD CONTRIBUTES TO THE GROWTH OF THE PACKAGING INDUSTRY
A specific thematic area featuring 85 exhibiting companies and a convention will be dedicated to the manufacturing and marketing of pet food.

IPACK-IMA 2009 will be strategic to the growth of the pet food industry: this market is in fact dodging the crisis that is affecting the entire industry of consumer goods. The latest surveys by international institutes such as Iri and Euromonitor International report only a slight decrease in this industry over the last months. The growth rate over the last five years has been a yearly 5% on average, in particular +5,2% in 2007. IPACK-IMA, the reference exhibition for packaging and agro-food processing technology on stage at FieraMilano from March 24th to 28th, will feature a specific thematic area dedicated to technology and materials for the pet food industry.

Pet food production and distribution play an important role in the packaging industry. The pet food market is becoming increasingly diversified in term of preparations and segmentation between standard and upscale products. In terms of quantity, the Italian market, of which 90% is made up of cat and dog food, has a volume of approximately 500.000 tons per year, 58% of which is imported and 42% produced domestically. In terms of money the market was worth more than 1.300 million euros in 2007 (source: Assalco Report 2008), including pet "snacks & treats", the delicatessen, which account for 44 million euros.

The industry employs a wide range of packaging types and strongly focuses on the handiness and ease of use of the packages to increase market share. The industry is expected to grow especially on the domestic market since Italy is rapidly filling the gap with other countries where keeping pets is a more widespread habit, in terms of regular use of packaged food. According to the most recent data available (source GN Research), in Italy 61% of pet owners feed them with packaged food compared to an average 85% in the most advanced European countries and the USA.

The thematic area "Feed and Pet Food" in IPACK-IMA 2009 today features 85 exhibiting companies displaying cut-edge technological solutions, both in terms of machinery and materials, for pet food industry professionals and marketing managers from distribution chains – private brand products account for more than 20% of the market. Different kinds of pet food employ aluminium and steel cans, aluminium trays, flexible polylaminate bags, paper bags, cardboard boxes and polylaminate cellulose containers; snacks&treats also employ processing and packaging techniques used for human consumption.

The successful performance of the pet food industry is exceptionally important for packaging manufacturers on account of the general decrease in the demand for consumer goods. Along the exhibition, IPACK-IMA will host a meeting promoted by ANFIMA (National Association of Manufacturers of Metal Packaging and Related Products) focused on this subject and the opportunities thus created: "Petfood and metal packaging: the reasons for its success".

For further information:

ORGANIZER:

IPACK-IMA SPA
Maria Grazia Facchinetti
Marketing & Communication Manager
Tel. +39.02. 3191091- fax +39.02. 33619826
e-mail: ipackima@ipackima.it ; web: www.ipack-ima.com


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