The sector
The chemical sector in Catalonia
Powerful, developed and internationalized, The Catalan chemical sector is one of the most relevant in the country and with the greatest weight in exports. More than 1.900 companies and 61.560 workers are an example of Catalan chemical power, an industry with outstanding business opportunities in the world. The chemical industry focuses on the extraction and processing of raw materials, whether natural or synthetic; as well as in its transformation into substances with new characteristics.
China is the main world producer, contributing 43% of sales of chemical products in 2021, followed by the European Union, with 14,8%, and the United States, with 10,8%. All this indicates the report The chemical sector in Catalonia. Germany and France are the major players in the chemical industry in Europe, producing 29% and 17% of the total, respectively. They are followed by Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium.
Catalonia has chemistry
As far as Catalonia is concerned, the chemical industry is a powerful, developed and international sector. Up to 1.985 companies make up a sector that generates more than 61.000 jobs and 21.596 million euros in turnover. A figure, that of turnover, especially relevant if one takes into account that it is the second manufacturing sector in Catalonia and represents 36,8% of the total turnover of the sector in Spain.
In Catalonia there are three large chemical centers that are dedicated to different areas of the industry and offer services to chemical companies: Tarragona, dedicated mainly to the production of basic chemical products, petrochemicals and polymers; Vallès, focused on the production of specialized chemical products; and Barcelona, which in addition to being the headquarters and commercial offices of many companies, we find production plants for intermediate chemical products.
The first export sector in Catalonia
Catalan Chemical Sector, as presented in the data from the FedeQuim Foreign Trade Report 2023, is the strongest and most determining sectorof the economic sectors that currently exist in Catalonia.
Its position is so forceful that, in the last three years (2020-2022 period) it has established itself as the most important Industry with the highest export and import values annually.
Export percentage in the last three years exceeds 25%of total Catalan exports, which positions the Catalan Chemical Industry as the most relevant and influential for its local economy.
For this reason, and taking into account the positive trend and positioning that the Catalan Chemical Sector currently has, It is estimated that it will continue to establish itself as the Industry with the greatest scope and magnitude for Catalonia..
In the last three years, the Catalan Chemical Sector has been registering a significant increase in its trade balance, reflecting a growth in its export and import values at the regional and national level, offering positive figures that have materialized in visibly favorable results for the economy. Catalan.
Thanks to this constancy and progressive increase in its figures in the Trade Balance, the Catalan Chemical Industry is positioned as the main reference at the national level Being, in addition, the autonomous community with the highest annual export rate and with a wide difference with respect to the second (Community of Madrid).
The main objective of FedeQuim's Annual Catalan Foreign Trade Report 2023 is to highlight this notable evolution in recent years, demonstrating continuity, growth and solidity when presenting the Catalan Chemical Industry as the greatest reference in its sector at a national level.
For more information about the full Report, you can contact us at fedequim@fedequim.es