Cefic expects ‘modest economic growth’ for EU chemicals industry

Brussels – The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) expects EU27 chemical output to grow by 2.5% in 2022, following growth of around 6% in 2021.

According to the latest data published by Cefic 17 Feb, demand growth in 2021 was high in the consumer goods industries, such as furniture, electrical appliances, and textiles.

Furthermore, an ‘above-average’ growth was recorded in the food and beverages industry as well as the European construction sector.

Recovery was also seen within the exports demand, as exports to countries outside the EU expanded by more than 15% year-on-year to €160 billion during the first nine months of the year to

According to Cefic, the moderate 2.5% growth foreseen for the chemical industry in 2022 is likely to be driven by further demand from the manufacturing sector.

In particular, the European automotive industry is expected to recover as supply chain issues “should be easing over the year,” the association added.

Despite the growth projection, the long-term outlook for the industry remains uncertain as high consumer price inflation and surging energy and feedstock prices can dampen both consumer and industrial demand.

“The recovery in 2021 has been better than expected, bringing the industry back on track,” said Marco Mensink, Cefic director general.

Mensink, however, stressed that with the large green transition investments expected from the industry in the next decades, a solid economic basis was very important.

“It will be crucial... to not only develop new chemistries and technologies in general, but to invest these new sources for growth also in Europe,” he added.

“With the right policy choices made in the next two years, the chemical industry, as part of all strategic value chains, will have a key role to play in Europe,” he added.

During its annual Industry Days conference on 10 Feb, the European Commission announced that it would start developing a “transition pathway” for the chemical industry.

The strategy is set to offer “a better understanding of the scale, cost, long term benefits and required actions,” within the chemicals industry.

The blueprint is expected to support the sector’s transformation towards becoming more sustainable and implementing the objectives of the European Green Deal.