December 9, 2025 15:24

Cefic has released its report on the performance of the European chemical industry over the first eight months of the year—and to say it clearly, the figures are not good.

The reasons for the crisis are well known: Energy costs in Europe remain among the highest in the world—around three times those of the United States—and demand is failing to take off, while international competition remains strong, especially from China. Moreover, states the European Chemical Industry Council, “the strategies that worked in the past seem to have lost their effect: Europe is now paying the price of an open market and an unparalleled level of regulation, to the point that it has entered a critical phase.”

One figure supports this analysis: In the first eight months of the year, exports of chemical products to non-EU markets dropped by 2.3%, while imports over the same period rose by 2.6%.
The trade surplus of the EU27 chemical sector reached 25 billion euros in the first eight months of 2025, a drop of 6.6 billion compared to 2024. With 15 billion euros, petrochemicals generated the largest trade deficit.

In volume, the trade deficit amounted to 7.7 million tonnes, up by 4.9 million compared to the same period in 2024. With 5.2 million tonnes, basic inorganics recorded the largest shortfall, followed by petrochemicals (4 million tonnes) and polymers (252,000 tonnes).

It is therefore no surprise that chemical production in the EU27 fell by 2.5% between January and September, and forecasts for the full year indicate a decline of more than two percentage points, compared to the 2.4% growth recorded in 2024. It should also be noted that the sector’s output remains about 10% below pre-crisis levels seen in 2014–2019.

Geographically, chemical production trends across the first nine months of the year are uneven: The Netherlands recorded a drop of 6.2%, France of 3.9%, while Spain limited losses to less than one percentage point. Germany and Italy saw declines of 3.2% and 2%, respectively. Among major European countries, only Belgium reported a slight increase of 0.2%.

On the pricing front, there were no significant changes compared to 2024, but due to weak demand, the value of sales dropped by 2.3% between January and August.

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