The printing and packaging industries are expected to grow by 15-20 percent in output this year, according to the Vietnam Printing Association (VPA). The local printing market has steadily grown, with industrial packaging and label printing accounting for 80 percent of the total output of the industry, said VPA Chairman Nguyen Van Dong. Industrial production expansion had contributed to the growth of industrial packaging and label printing, Dong said. Dong spoke at the 15th Vietnam International Printing & Packaging and Food Processing Industry Exhibition that opened on September 30 in HCM City. Nearly 1,500 industrial packaging printing enterprises are operating nationwide with total revenue of more than 2 billion USD, he said. Most large local printing firms are equipped with modern technologies and machinery imported from Italy, Japan, Germany and the US. Small firms with limited financial capacity had bought used machinery and equipment that could not ensure good quality and meet environmental regulations, he said. At the exhibition, hundreds of companies are displaying the latest technologies, machinery and equipment. More than 230 exhibitors from 12 countries and territories, including Singapore, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Germany, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China, are displaying cutting-edge technologies and equipment at the three-in-one exhibition on packaging, printing and food processing industries. The four-day event at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in HCM City's District 7 aimed to create a trade forum for enterprises and manufacturers to access markets, find partners and establish business relationships, said Phan Thi Thanh Minh, Director General of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's South Agency. It also aims to enhance international cooperation between local and foreign enterprises in order to exchange technology and apply advanced science and technology.-VNA