As published by the Spanish Chemical Industry Federation, the European Chemical Industry Council estimates a 1% growth in chemical production in the European Union by 2024. This will be a slight growth but it stands out in a period marked by a 7.6% drop in production in 2023 and more than 6% in 2022.
Cefic's CEO, Marco Mensink, explained that this growth is beginning to be part of the green shoots of a stabilisation of inflation and also the steady rise in raw material prices: "The current lack of demand is affecting the chemical industry worldwide. With the stabilisation of value chains and the impact of inflation on global markets, a first sign of recovery can now be seen. However, energy costs remain the Achilles heel of the European chemical industry and no other region in the world has been affected as much as ours. This, together with high raw material costs, is causing the industry to lose competitiveness in global chemical markets. While companies in other regions are hoping to reinvest, especially in the US and the Gulf, investments in Europe are under enormous pressure. The impacts of the US IRA are just beginning to be felt around the world".
FEIQUE produces an annual barometer showing the weight of the chemical sector in Spain. In the case of perfumery and cosmetics, it accounts for 7.1% of the 73.7% of the chemical industry within the chemical sector, where this percentage is shared with the pharmaceutical industry.
The chemical industry in Spain prepares for a rise of wage
The Business Federation of the Spanish Chemical Industry and the unions of CCOO of Industry and UGT FICA signed the past Wednesday the update salarial by the which the wages of 300.000 people that are employed in the chemical industry will increase 10,3% from this 1 January.