Spain, among the ten major world producers of plastics

Spain, with its 2.5 MT per year, is among the ten largest producers and global consumers of plastic raw materials. Last year, according to the world Organization of plastics statistics compiled by ANAIP (Spanish Confederation of entrepreneurs of plastics), our country was the ninth producer and the seventh consumer worldwide.

The main producer is United States, which produces and consumes three times more plastic than his immediate followers, Japan and Germany. The production of United States is of the order of the 35 MT while that Japan is 14 MT and the Germany of 11 MT. The level of production of the three main countries is similar to the consumer.

Spain, well located

Quite some distance from these three countries is France, with a 5.1 MT production and consumption of 4 MT. Then is Belgium, with a significant production and lower consumption. Italy, Canada and Britain are immediately ahead of Spain.

Exception of United States and Germany, with a consumption of plastics per capita of almost double than other industrialized countries, the level of consumption of plastics per capita of Spain is almost the same as the main countrieswith its 68 kg/inhabitant per year.

As in so many other things, this increase in consumption occurred in the last ten years, while Spain has always been an important production of plastics.

Recession in Germany and France

The macro-economic figures of the ten top global producers, highlighted three significant events: a strong pull of the consumption of plastics in United States in 1995 with a less significant increase in production; healthy production and Japanese consumption and stagnation, if not growth recession in major European countries. With the exception of Britain, which grew 22% production to place above Spain, Germany and France fell the production and consumption.

The decline or stagnation of production in countries such as Germany and France is due, in part, to the displacement of investments to countries of Eastern Europe. In addition to the high investments that are taking place in Poland, Hungary, Romania and Turkey which are felt in a few years, production in these countries already have significant growth rates. Both Hungary and Poland longer produced 750 MT of raw plastic annual agenda and levels of consumption in Poland are even higher than the figure of production.

China, the key factor

The key factor globally in the next few years is, however, China and other Asian countries. China's production is not reflected in the statistics of the world Organization of plastics but has a great significance globally because the petrochemical major American and German made significant investments through joint ventures with local conglomerates.