German chemical industry in 2010 production and sales record high

According to statistics released recently by the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), the German chemical industry's production in 2010 increased by 11% from the previous year, and sales volume increased by 17.5% year-on-year, reaching a record high since 1976. However, people in the industry pointed out that the performance in 2010 was a rebound on the basis of the low level of performance affected by the financial crisis in 2009.

In 2010, German chemical industry sales were 170.6 billion euros. Among them, the export value of 99.6 billion euros, an increase of 20%, has exceeded the level before the economic recession in 2007; domestic sales of 71 billion euros, an increase of 14%, but still about 10% lower than the 2007 level. In 2011, the demand for chemical products in some industrial countries weakened and sales growth is expected to be 4%. In addition, the debt crisis is also a major reason for the reduction of foreign demand.

VCI also pointed out that the ex-factory prices of chemical products and pharmaceuticals in Germany rose by about 3% in 2010, among which the price increase of chemical materials was significant. Compared with the construction of the chemical industry in 2009 and the equipment investment of 6.1 billion euros, in 2010 it was 6.4 billion euros, the former decreased by 14% compared with the same period of last year, and the latter increased by 5%. In 2010, the research and development expenses of the German chemical industry reached 9.4 billion euros, an increase of 4% year-on-year. The number of employed people was 412,200, a decrease of 0.5% year-on-year.