The French chemical industry advances in adjustment

As the birthplace of modern chemistry, France is one of the leading countries in the world in both scientific research and industrial fields. Today, the French chemical industry is facing the most important challenge in the world - the urgent need to achieve sustainable development, development and introduction of new green solutions. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has listed the chemical industry in the field of French strategic operations. The French Chemical Industry Federation is also actively coordinating and advancing this process through adjustments and changes.

France is the fifth largest chemical producer in the world. In 2008, its chemical turnover reached 85.5 billion euros, which is second only to Germany in Europe. The chemical industry occupies a pivotal position in the French export trade. In 2008, French chemical exports accounted for 13% of the total export volume of the country. Different from the way that the German chemical industry is composed of large industrial complexes, the French chemical industry is composed of many small and medium-sized enterprises that are highly active and competitive in the whole country. Many of these companies do not have employees that can be divided into medium-sized companies, that is, have 250 to 500 employees. In 2008, the chemical industry contributed 18.5 billion euros of gross domestic product to France, creating 182,000 direct and 720,000 indirect jobs.

However, from the past 10 years, the growth of the French chemical industry has been very weak, and the average annual increase in the output of chemical products is only 0.8%. This situation reflects the stagnation of investment, only 3% to 4% of the turnover was reinvested in industrial development, and investment in research and development field is only 1.8%. This is mainly caused by four factors: tax revenue is higher than other European competitors; regulatory pressure is relatively large; there is insufficient infrastructure; and some countries have increasingly serious protectionism.

In the financial crisis, the French chemical industry has stood the test. Excluding the pharmaceutical sector, chemical output fell by 9.1 percent in 2008 after a 8.3 percent increase in 2008, with export value falling by 16.2 percent. Likewise, imports in 2009 also fell by 16.7 percent compared to previous years. The reversal trend began in the third quarter of 2009. By the end of 2009, French chemical import and export had already produced a deficit of 5.1 billion euros.

The French Chemical Industry Consortium (UIC) issued a report a few days ago that the French chemical industry has begun to recover, but the recovery speed and time of different chemical sectors have differences. The first recovery departments are inorganic and organic chemicals, while the fine chemical industry The fragrance and soap industry remains stagnant with low demand constraints. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2009, the French chemical industry achieved a 3% increase in the first quarter of 2010, a year-on-year increase of 15.4%.

The newly established development direction of the French chemical industry is the application of renewable raw materials and new energy, the use of more energy-efficient process technologies, the development of safer products for consumers, minimizing the impact of chemicals on the environment, and at the same time strengthening innovation and improving enterprises. Competitiveness. In order to meet the current severe challenges and establish long-term development, the French Chemical Industry Federation is actively taking measures to promote economic growth and supervision, and strive to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises and achieve steady growth in the industry. In order to promote adjustments and changes, the federation has also formulated a series of measures including training and skills development.