MOROCCO – AMG Packaging, a subsidiary of the Italian group Pro-Gest specializing in the marketing of food packaging has invested 266 million dirhams (US$26.3m) to build a paper packaging facility in Sidi Bou Othmane.
The new unit will extend over an area of 10 hectares and will be dedicated to the manufacture of cardboard paper packaging for agricultural products, catering, and warehouses as well as the manufacture of ecological furniture.
The plant’s production will be mainly dedicated to meeting the needs of the local market. Overall, this new investment is part of the parent company Pro-Gest’s international expansion strategy.
According to Massimo Priasca, managing director of AMG packaging, this is also the Italian group’s first packaging manufacturing unit abroad.
According to the company, the facility will stimulate the supply of local industry and reduce imports of agri-food packaging in cardboard paper, the bill for which each year amounts to 1.35 billion dirhams (US$133 million).
In addition, the facility is expected to create 170 new jobs over time benefiting g local citizens as well as contributing to the economy of the Kingdom of Morocco.
Founded in 1973, the Italian group Pro-Gest is one of the main European players in the production of cardboard and packaging for the agricultural and agro-industrial sectors.
The investment comes at a time when the flexible packaging market in Morocco is expected to register a CAGR of 10.4% between 2023 and 2028.
With online shopping on the rise, the market is expected to rebound in the long run. Flexible packaging in Morocco is rising faster than other forms.
It includes trends like e-commerce, and sustainability, which can be used to drive market development and growth. Customers in the region are eager to pay more for specific product attributes boosted by flexible packaging.
Early this year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) backed the development of the packaging industry in Morocco with a US$16.45 million loan in local currency to Multisac SA.
The funds were intended to support the introduction of biaxially oriented polypropylene films to the company’s product range. These are reusable and recyclable flexible packaging films that have a low carbon footprint.
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