Bangladesh's manufacturing sector should place importance on sustainable packaging as it had become critical for grabbing the export market, speakers said at a seminar on Monday.
In this regard, strict environmental compliance, ensuring policy consistency, duty restructuring, and stronger waste collection ecosystems were vital, they added.
They made the observations at the seminar styled "Bangladesh's New Export Frontier: Sustainable Packaging Industry".
The event was jointly hosted by the Plastic Products Business Promotion Council (PPBPC) and the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) at a hotel in the capital.
Md Nuruzzaman, additional secretary at the Ministry of Industries, attended the seminar as the chief guest, while BPGMEA President Shamim Ahmed chaired it.
Dr Khaled Mahmud, a professor in the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) at Dhaka University, delivered the keynote.
In his speech, Nuruzzaman said environment-friendly packaging, particularly for value-added export merchandise, was becoming important.
He also laid emphasis on introducing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to improve waste management and reduce pressure on local governments.
Regular dialogues among stakeholders, including policymakers, businesses, academics, and consumers, were crucial, he said.
The government would consider stakeholders' recommendations and align industrial policies with national and international sustainability standards, he said.
In his keynote, Dr Mahmud highlighted that the local plastic and packaging industry met 83 per cent of domestic demand and employed approximately 1.5 million people.
Direct exports currently stood at around $200 million, complemented by roughly $900 million in indirect exports routed through the ready-made garment sector, he said.
He warned that the European Union's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) would enforce minimum recycled-content thresholds by 2030, making non-compliant goods unsellable.
Furthermore, he identified Bangladesh's upcoming graduation from the least developed country (LDC) status as a crucial window requiring a strategic shift toward high-specification packaging.
Md Razzaqul Islam, deputy secretary and business promotion council director at the commerce ministry, said Bangladesh's packaging industry had the capability to compete globally, but its international presence remained far below its potential.
He noted that packaging had been named the ministry's "Product of the Year" to recognise the sector's growing importance.
BPGMEA President Shamim said Bangladesh's plastic packaging industry had attracted significant investments and met international standards, supplying to multinationals like Nestlé, Unilever, and Coca-Cola.
He urged policymakers to recognise deemed exports and extend export incentives, saying the sector - particularly flexible packaging - had strong potential to expand exports, attract foreign investments, and drive growth.
President of the Bangladesh Flexible Packaging Industry Safius Sami said packaging had become an indispensable component of modern manufacturing and consumption, serving as a critical link in the value chain for nearly every product.
The global packaging market had exceeded $1 trillion and Bangladesh could earn over $25 billion in exports by capturing even a small share of that, he added.
Debabrata Roy Chowdhury, director (legal, regulatory and corporate affairs) at Nestlé Bangladesh; Kamruzzaman Kamal, marketing director at Pran-RFL Group; and ASM Kamal Uddin, managing director at Luna Plastic Industries; spoke on the occasion.
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