Chemical industry in decline: BASF warns of further production cuts in Europe

Europe has already lost around a quarter of its chemical production due to the energy crisis, according to the head of one of the largest companies in the chemical industry, and further production cuts are likely. Last year in particular, the region’s industrial competitiveness was hit by unprecedented natural gas prices, which in Europe rose to multiples of those in other parts of the world.

German chemical industry output fell 17% year on year from the start of the year, while the figure for Europe as a whole was a 13% decline, according to Martin Brudermueller, CEO of chemical giant BASF. Output had already fallen by 5 to 6% last year due to the energy crisis.

"This basically means that 20-25% of production volumes across Europe have been lost. This is the EU's fourth-largest industrial sector. For many decades, it generated trade surpluses worth 50 billion euros. With last year's rise in gas prices, that's gone. Europe is now importing more chemicals than it exports," said Martin Brudermueller.