Export Expansion - Trends and development in emerging markets like the Gulf States and China were among the hot topics at the 10th Handelsblatt Jahrestagung Chemie 2009 taking place in May in Dusseldorf, Germany. Christina Keil talked to Carl Hugo Erbslöh, President of C.H. Erbslöh, about his opinion on the development of exports outside the EU.

CHEManager Europe: Growth in emerging regions is a very important topic. You emphasized that export rates should be increased to face the competition. How are you approaching this topic?

C. H. Erbslöh: To stay competitive, we have to raise export rates. At Erbslöh we have taken the first step. At the beginning of the year I was in the Far East - in China, India, Thailand, Australia etc. - and closed contracts with sales agents to introduce our products in these regions.

Recently, many banks and insurers' are supported by the government. What do you think about governmental support for other companies?

C. H. Erbslöh: I don't think this would be helpful. Let me first refer to the banks. I'm against governmental support for banks, but unfortunately it is necessary to avoid completely crashing the economic system. The problem is that bank bankruptcy affects the whole system and that has to be changed or avoided. The same applies to insurers'.
Companies have to operate economically. If they make mistakes they have to find solutions on their own. Otherwise it would be unfair for those companies who are doing a good job. Take for example the airlines in the U.S.: If an airline declares chapter 11, its debts are remitted and as a result the airline can lower prices. Now, other airlines get into trouble and have to decrease prices too in order to face the competition. In consequence, they also have to declare chapter 11. That's the wrong way to solve the problem.

Would you name governmental support for companies a downward spiral?

C. H. Erbslöh: Yes, definitely. Another example is the automotive industry. Especially in the U.S., companies with decreasing order rates are highly supported and get billions from the government. As a result, automotive manufacturers in Europe suffer because they can not compete with the low production costs in the U.S.

The competition does not only come from the U.S., China is ­going to rapidly catch up on ­export rates. Is this trend going to increase?

C. H. Erbslöh: You're right. China is going to increase its exports in the near future. If you have a look at export rates, Germany is still selling more products to China than they're exporting to us. So it seems as if we have the right strategy. But the problem is the export of finished goods. In the long term we're going to fall behind if Europe, Brussels or Berlin do not secure our competitiveness. We need the same terms and conditions China and other competitors have. Right now, they get governmental support while we are not supported - that's the problem.
Isn't that in conflict with your statement that you're against governmental support?

C. H. Erbslöh: No, not at all. We don't need to be supported. But the Chinese government has to stop supporting its companies.

Do you think it is possible? How could it be achieved?

C. H. Erbslöh: Yes I think it is possible. We need to pursue a uniform policy in Europe - not 27 different ones. For example there should be one European Minister for Economic Affairs. The same is true for finances and foreign issues. We need central ministries for Economic Affairs, Finances and Foreign Issues in Brussels. Other issues could continue to be organized locally.

Contact:
Carl Hugo Erbslöh
C. H. Erbslöh KG
Krefeld, Germany
Tel.: +49 2151 525 170
Fax: +49 2151 525 200
E@che-kg.de