Wedoany.com Report on Mar 10th, The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) recently released a chemical trends report indicating that European chemical production in 2025 is expected to decline by 2.4%, continuing the downward trend seen in 2024, with a slightly larger drop than the previously forecasted 2%. Compared to the average level from 2014 to 2019, current production remains 11% lower.

Looking at national performance, the Netherlands saw the largest decline in chemical production at 4.9%; Germany declined by 3.3%; France and Belgium decreased by 2.9% and 1.3%, respectively. Spain was the only country to achieve slight growth, but the increase was less than 1%.

Analyzed by product category, petrochemicals were most significantly impacted by economic conditions, with production falling by over 10%; polymer production decreased by 6.9%, and basic inorganic chemicals declined by 2.7%. Most specialty chemical sub-sectors saw a 2% drop in production, with dyes and pigments experiencing a decline of up to 7%. Currently, European chemical capacity utilization is at a historically low level, not only significantly below the EU's long-term average but also markedly lower than that of the United States.

Major challenges facing the European chemical industry include weak demand, persistently high energy costs, and macroeconomic uncertainty. In the first 11 months of 2025, European chemical sales decreased by 3.2% year-on-year, with chemical product prices falling by 0.5% for the full year.

Trade data shows that from January to October 2025, European chemical exports decreased by 3.8% year-on-year, with a trade surplus of 31.3 billion euros, a reduction of 7.3 billion euros compared to the same period in 2024. Specialty chemicals were the largest export category, with export value reaching 61.7 billion euros; petrochemicals were the largest import category, with import value at 58.5 billion euros. Both specialty chemicals and consumer chemicals achieved surpluses exceeding 24 billion euros, while petrochemicals had the largest deficit at 19.2 billion euros. Overall, the European chemical industry remains in a phase characterized by weak demand, high cost pressures, and tested competitiveness.