UNIDO in collaboration with the World Packaging Organization (WPO) organized training on ‘The Fundamentals of Packaging for the Apple value chain’ on 7 June 2022 in Quetta, Balochistan. Held under the Project for Agri-Food and Agro-Industry Development assistance (PAFAID) funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the training also celebrated the World Food Safety Day, reaffirming UNIDO’s commitment to building food safety compliance capacity for safer health in the province. Representatives from the Balochistan Agriculture Extension Department, Balochistan Food Authority (BFA), academic institutions, farmers’ community, and the packaging industry participated in the training.
The training provided a comprehensive understanding of packaging to the apple value chain actors, including the fundamentals of packaging, how to use packaging as a market tool, assessment of packaging practices with a special focus on the apple value chain, and packaging and labeling regulations, etc.
Reaffirming UNIDO’s and PAFAID’s commitment to improving food safety practices in Balochistan on the occasion of the World Food Safety Day, UNIDO’s Country Representative Ms. Nadia Aftab, appreciated the Government of Japan & JICA for their support in the development of the apple value chain in Balochistan. She emphasized the need to strengthen food safety compliance, best practices, and value addition in Balochistan province, given its status as the country’s largest province where the majority of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods majority of inhabitants’ livelihood depends on agriculture.
Mr. Muhammad Ishaq, Director of Registration and Licensing at the Balochistan Food Authority (BFA) also appreciated UNIDO’s efforts to promote food safety in the province and called on all stakeholders to work together to promote awareness and encourage adequate steps to prevent and manage foodborne risks.
The event concluded with launching the Call for Applications for the Apple Star Pack, Pakistan’s first Student Packaging Contest. The contest calls upon the youth of Balochistan to unleash their creative, technical, marketing, and entrepreneurial skills for designing modern and efficient apple packaging solutions.