The German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) welcomes the fact that Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and US President Donald Trump have averted the danger of a trade war for the time being.
European NGOs have welcomed the EU’s plans for an overhaul of pharmaceutical legislation – the first in two decades – presented this week in Brussels. The drugs industry, however, has expressed sharp criticism.
The mood of the German chemical industry brightened at the beginning of 2023 on the back of a sharp downslide in the last quarter of 2022, when production slumped by 14%, producers operated plants at around three-quarters of capacity, demand sank and sales declined both in domestic and foreign markets.
The global chemical industry has seen its share of challenges, but the sector has traditionally mustered its considerable resources to manage them with a minimum of casualties. Crisis here, recession there, when all blows over, it‘s “business as usual.”
Just as the outlook for gas supply to Germany appeared somewhat brighter, at the end of last week Russian gas giant Gazprom announced it would shut down the pipeline NordStream 1 from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 to carry out repairs.
The European Parliament was at the center of political disagreement and disappointment on Jun. 8 as a plenary vote on one of three key climate laws failed, and the proposals were sent back to committees. Finger-pointing and name-calling across the aisles followed, according to recordings from the session.
German chemical and pharmaceutical producers increased output by 1.3% and sales by 7.8% to €66.3 billion in the 2022 first quarter, compared with the last 2021 quarter. The quarter-on-quarter sales total was padded by a 6.7% price rise against the last three months of 2021, the industry association Verband der Chemischen Industrie said.
Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industry continued on an upward curve in the 2021 third quarter, though growth tapered off, the industry association Verband der Chemischen Industrie (VCI) said in its quarterly report. Progress was hampered in part by tightening raw material supply, strained logistics and rising energy prices. Looking ahead, the association said, is for a “further cooling” of the sector’s business is on the horizon.
Despite the double whammy of the coronavirus pandemic and the related supply chain disruption, Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries performed well in the first half of 2021, the industry association Verband der Chemischen Industrie (VCI) said.
Punctuated by lockdowns and gaps in raw materials supply, pandemic year 2020 presented major challenges for German chemical and pharmaceutical producers. However, due to a strong fourth quarter performance in which both sales and production rose against the third quarter, the industry association Verband der Chemischen Industre (VCI), said business was better than expected.
Despite the global coronavirus pandemic that threatened to wipe out gains made since the deep economic recession of a decade ago, Germany’s chemicals and pharmaceutical producers held up relatively well in the first half year, Christian Kullmann, president of the industry association Verband der Chemischen Industrie (VCI), told journalists last week.
