By: ICN Bureau
Last updated : December 01, 2025 10:03 am
Believe it or not, European chemical industry is in peril
As per European Chemical Industry Council, companies across the sector are grappling with sky-high energy costs, stagnant demand, and fierce competition from China, raising fears of widespread deindustrialisation.
Energy prices in Europe remain among the world’s highest, putting unprecedented pressure on margins. At the same time, foreign trade—once a pillar of European economic strength—shows little sign of recovery, leaving exporters struggling to compete globally.
Industry leaders warn that traditional strategies are failing, as per Cefic. Europe’s highly regulated, open market, once a strength, now appears to be a liability. Imports are rising, exports are faltering, and the sector is entering a “critical phase,” according to analysts.
Investment is drying up amid mounting uncertainty, and forecasts for 2025-2026 are bleak. Factory closures are accelerating, shifting industrial advantage to countries with lower costs and threatening Europe’s long-term chemical production base.
The message is clear: without urgent intervention, Europe risks losing its chemical industry edge to more competitive global markets.
EU27 chemicals business confidence remains weak in 2025 (Jan-Aug)
According to the latest EU Commission business and consumer survey, confidence in the EU27 chemical industry significantly deteriorated in 2025 (Jan-Aug) compared to the same period of 2024.
Among the largest EU27 economies, the confidence indicator declined sharply in Germany (-8.5) and France (-7.7), while Belgium saw a modest improvement (+1.9). Confidence deteriorated significantly in Poland (-5.3), Italy (-5.2), Spain (-5.1), and the Netherlands (-4.8). The EU27 chemicals business environment has been facing a limited demand since March 2022.
EU27 chemical demand: First nine months of 2025 disappoint
From January to September 2025, output across the EU27 manufacturing sector rose by 1.4% compared to the same period in 2024. However, most downstream users of chemicals reported a decline in output. For instance, the automotive sector is still experiencing a significant decline of about 3.4%. The EU27 chemical industry itself reported an output decrease of 2.5%, far below the overall EU27 manufacturing average. The output of the EU27 chemical industry remains 10% below the pre-crisis levels of 2014 to 2019. Unfortunately, no strong positive changes have been observed so far this year and business expectations for most downstream users are still not encouraging.
Weak demand continues to weigh on EU27 chemicals sales
In 2025, EU27 chemical prices were at the same level as in 2024. Chemical sales in value decreased by 2.3% in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The high level of uncertainty is impacting deeply the European business community. Given the lack in demand growth, the European chemical industry production volumes have still not recovered. The ongoing low demand continues to weigh on EU27 chemical sales.
January to September 2025: EU27 chemicals production 2.5% below 2024 levels
Data analysis shows that leading EU27 countries experienced different growth rates of chemical production during the first nine months of 2025 compared to the same period of 2024. The Netherlands registered a decline of 6.2%. France saw its production decrease by 3.9%. Spain reported a decrease of less than 1%. Germany and Italy posted a decrease of 3.2% and 2.0% respectively.
Belgium benefited from a 0.2% increase. Poland registered a decline of 2.6%. Chemical production trends by country show a fragmented Europe. The economic environment in which European chemical companies are operating in 2025 is highly uncertain. The global economic outlook for 2025 is not very positive. EU27 chemicals output is expected to decrease by more than 2.0% in 2025, down from 2.4% growth achieved in 2024.
January to August 2025: EU27 chemical exports value below 2024 levels
From January to August 2025, EU27 chemical exports decreased by 2.3% in 2025 in comparison to the same period in 2024. The EU27 chemicals exports amounted to €148.6 bn in the first eight months of 2025, down by €3.5 bn compared to 2024. With €28.3 bn, USA is the primary source of exports of the EU27 area for chemicals, followed by the UK (€17.0 bn) and China (€11.6 bn). With €49.8 bn, specialty chemicalsisthe largest exportsector followed by petrochemicals (€33.1 bn) and consumers chemicals (€25.4 bn).
January to August 2025: EU27 chemical exports volume above 2024 levels
From January to August 2025, EU27 chemical exports decreased by 1.4 million tons in 2025 in comparison to the same period in 2024. The EU27 chemicals exports amounted to 61.3 million tons in the first eight months of 2025, down from 62.8 million tons in 2024. With 8.5 million tons, UK is the primary source of exports of the EU27 area for chemicals, followed by USA (5.6 mt) and Türkiye (4.1 mt).
January to August 2025: EU27 chemical imports value 2.6% above 2024 levels
From January to August 2025, EU27 chemical imports increased by 2.6% in 2025 in comparison to the same period in 2024. The EU27 chemical industry import amounted to €123.7 bn in the first eight months of 2025, up by €3.2 bn compared to 2024. With €22.2 bn, China is the primary source of imports of the EU27 area for chemicals, followed by the USA (€20.9 bn) and the UK (€12.7 bn). With €48.1 bn, petrochemicals is the largest import sector followed by specialty chemicals (€29.3 bn) and polymers (€21.0 bn). 2025 data analysis shows an increase in import values for all sectors except for specialty chemicals compared to 2024 (Jan-Aug).
January to August 2025: EU27 chemical imports volume 5.2% above 2024 levels
From January to August 2025, EU27 chemical imports increased by 3.4 million tons in 2025 in comparison to the same period in 2024. The EU27 chemicals exports amounted to 69.1 million tons in the first eight months of 2025, up from 65.6 million tons in 2024. With 10.1 million tons, USA is the primary source of imports of the EU27 area for chemicals, followed by China (6.7 mt), and the UK (6.3 mt).
January to August 2025: EU27 chemical trade surplus in value below 2024 levels
From January to August 2025, EU27 chemical exports decreased by 2.3% in 2025 in comparison to the same period in 2024, whereas EU27 chemical imports increased by 2.6%. The EU27 chemicals trade surplus amounted to €25.0 bn in the first eight months of 2025, down by €6.6 bn compared to 2024.
With €15.0 bn, petrochemicals is generating the largest trade deficit, followed by basic inorganics (€1.7 bn). By contrast, specialty chemicals and consumers chemicals continue to generate a trade surplus of more than €19 bn each in 2025 (Jan-Aug). However, this is not sufficient to compensate for the increased level of imports in petrochemicals.
January to August 2025: EU27 trade deficit in volume above 2024 levels
The EU27 chemicals trade deficit amounted to 7.7 million tons in the first eight months of 2025, up by 4.9 million tons compared to 2024. With 5.2 million tons, basic inorganics generated the largest trade deficit, followed by petrochemicals (4.0 mt) and polymers (252 mt). Specialty chemicals and consumer chemicals continue to generate a trade surplus of more than 1 million tons each in 2025 (Jan-Aug).