Chemical industry & materials

Chemical industry & materials

World chemical sales were estimated at EUR 3.5 trillion in 2020 by The European Chemical Industry Council, CEFIC, and were forecast to grow to EUR 6.2 trillion by 2030. The largest market for chemicals was China at close to 45% of the total, followed by Rest of Asia at 15%, EU27 at 14%, and NAFTA at close to 14%. At revenues of EUR 499 billion in 2020, the EU27 was second largest chemicals producer in the world well after China’s EUR 1,547 billion and before the U.S.’s EUR 426 billion. According to CEFIC, the EU sector employed 1.2 million workers, registered EUR 499 billion in turnover and made EUR 9.4 billion in research and innovation investments in 2020. As China’s chemical production aggressively captured 20% global market share between 2010 and 2020, the EU27, the U.S, Japan, Brazil, Taiwan, UK and South Korea all saw their shares shrink markedly.

The combined chemicals, pharmaceuticals and rubber & plastics sectors were the leading in the EU27 in terms of manufacturing added value, accounting for 17.7% of total EU27 value add. Since June 2007 the European industry and the European chemical market has been regulated by a regulation short named REACH for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals and rules have been implemented by ECHA, the European Chemical Agency. After the UK exit from the EU, REACH became UK REACH. Subsectors include fertilisers, pesticides, chemical reagents, industrial disinfectants, industrial solvents, oleochemicals, petrochemicals, sealants, surfactants, lubricants & additives, paints & coatings, inks & dyes, pigments, varnishes & lacquers, sealants & adhesives, antioxidants, soaps & detergents, air & water filtration, waste and water treatment, polymers, elastomers, plastics, fragrances such as essential oils, flavours, synthetic rubber, man-made fibres, and consumer chemicals.

Keywords

Keywords: chemical industry, fertilisers, pesticides, chemical reagents, industrial disinfectants, industrial detergents, industrial solvents, oleochemicals, petrochemicals, sealants, surfactants, lubricants and additives, paints and coatings, inks & dyes, pigments, varnishes & lacquers, sealants & adhesives, antioxidants, soaps & detergents, air & water filtration, waste and water treatment, polymers, elastomers, plastics, fragrances such as essential oils, flavours, synthetic rubber, man- made fibres, consumer chemicals, corrosion inhibitors, flame retardants, surfactants, water management chemicals