27 January - 2 February 2000

Manufacturers queue up for a registered barcode

by David Kelleher

The local body authorised to issue barcodes has been inundated with requests from manufacturers and companies after supermarkets stopped accepting local products without a barcode label.

Manufacturers had up to 10 January to ensure they had a duly registered barcode on their product or else supermarkets would refuse to put the item on their shelves. This resulted in dozens of companies requesting a registered barcode from the EAN (Malta) which registers Maltese barcodes.

Strict methods are used to issue barcodes and each country has it own prefix digit just like the international telephone prefix. The Maltese barcode prefix is 535. Thus all barcoded products in Malta must have the 535 prefix.

Ray Vassallo, chief executive of EAN (Malta) told The Malta Business Weekly that they had been flooded with requests for a barcode.

"From the Christmas period up to the 10 January deadline we were flooded with requests for a barcode and people were coming to our offices and queuing outside," Mr Vassallo said.

"The only problem was that many did not understand that it takes up to 45 minutes to issue a barcode, so many had quite a long wait. The demand was so high that at one point we could not cope with the number of people," he added.

The supermarkets' decision caught some manufacturers unawares and very small producers, such as those supplying honey, were faced with some problems.

"Those who had some problems were small suppliers such as honey producers, who supply honey in their free time and not as a profession. We understand their dilemma and are working to find a solution," Mr Vassallo said.

"The supermarkets have not budged and they are not accepting products without a barcode. This is a good sign, yet at the same time we want to protect traditional manufacturers or producers," he added.

Mr Vassallo said all schemes introduced to attract or protect certain sectors of the market had to be approved by EAN International in Brussels.

Membership figures have increased 10-fold

and more companies and manufacturers are

becoming aware of the need and importance of a barcode.

Asked how these figures compare with EAN (Malta)'s projections for the year 2000, Mr Vassallo said the membership figure they expected by the end of 2000 would be reached by the first quarter.

"Membership projections for this will be reached by the first quarter, which is no mean feat,"

Mr Vassallo said.