Economy
Chemical industry expects another record year
Product tank farm on the site of the Genthin Chemical Park. The record run of the German chemical and pharmaceutical industry is likely to continue in the new year. Photo: Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Delivery bottlenecks, expensive energy, high raw material costs: despite obstacles, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry will experience a record year in 2021. The industry expects even better times for the new year.
The global economic recovery and the strong demand for corona vaccines are stimulating the German chemical and pharmaceutical industry.
In the new year, the industry’s record run with a good 466,000 employees is set to continue in this country, the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) forecast on Thursday in Frankfurt. Production is expected to increase by two percent in 2022 and sales by five percent to 231 billion euros. Good business can be expected, especially overseas, said VCI President Christian Kullmann.
The third largest industrial sector in Germany after the automobile and mechanical engineering sector is already experiencing a record year in 2021. With prices rising sharply, sales soared by an estimated 15.5 percent to around 220 billion euros – significantly more than the previous record of 203 billion euros from 2018. Production increased strongly by 4.5 percent with high capacity utilization. Industrial customers on all continents have continued their recovery course, said Kullmann.
Energy-intensive industry
At the same time, higher costs for electricity and gas as well as raw materials put a strain on energy-intensive chemicals. According to the VCI, crude oil has risen by 70 percent, and metals and minerals have also become more expensive. However, the industry was often able to pass higher prices on to customers. In a VCI member survey, only 16 percent of the companies stated that they would not be able to pass on rising costs, 67 percent can at least partially.
Delivery bottlenecks also created headwinds. According to the survey, 35 percent had to cut back their production due to a shortage of preliminary products and logistics, and 10 percent even shut down systems for a time. Therefore there were delays in orders. The industry does not expect any relaxation until the summer. “Our industry has withstood numerous headwinds and achieved a remarkable result,” said Kullmann.
Biontech provides a tailwind
In the pharmaceutical industry, the high sales of the vaccine from the Mainz manufacturer Biontech provided a tailwind, and production rose sharply. On the debate about shortages in vaccines in the first quarter, Kullmann said the shortage was acute. But he sees a very good chance of being able to counteract this with the production capacities in Germany.
The VCI asked the new federal government to support the expansion of wind power and photovoltaics with new, modern gasworks. In view of the exit from coal-fired power generation, security of supply should not be jeopardized, said Kullmann. Renewable energies are indispensable for climate protection, but there is too much bureaucracy. In Germany it takes “seven damned years” for a wind turbine to be approved.
Kullmann welcomed the fact that the traffic light parties want to end the financing of the EEG surcharge over the electricity price from 2023 and instead want to raise it from the budget. “It is high time to put this bureaucratic monster on a chain.”