EU chemicals production in September registered continued improvement, increasing 6.5 % compared with September 2009, according to Cefic’s latest Chemicals Trends Report. The data covering third quarter output indicate that Poland and Belgium are for the first time above pre-crisis production levels reached in 2007, while the aggregate EU chemicals sector is still 5.6 % below.

EU country production data for the first three quarters of 2010 show Germany leading Europe, with production up by nearly 20 % compared to the first three quarters of 2009. The extra-EU trade surplus rose in the first eight months of the year as compared with the comparable period in 2009.

Cefic Chief Economist Moncef Hadhri commented: “The September data confirm that the overall situation in the EU chemicals sector continued to improve. The data also suggest that the recovery of the EU chemicals sector will continue in the coming months at a slower pace, with differences in EU countries and chemicals sub-sectors. The forecast remains mostly the same, as overall activity will moderate through the end of the year.”

• CEFIC, Brussels, Belgium