The Spanish Federation of Chemical Industries said that the sales revenue of Spanish chemicals will increase significantly

Recently, the Spanish Federation of Chemical Industries (FEIQUE) said that due to higher sales prices, Spanish chemical sales revenue is expected to increase by 17.
6% year-on-year in 2022, from 77.
241 billion euros in 2021 to 90.
835 billion euros in 2022, but production will be almost flat and is expected to increase by only 0.
2%.

Spain's chemical sector, including pharmaceuticals, will be able to avoid a recession in 2022 but face uncertainty in 2023 unless the government puts in place emergency measures to help the chemical industry cope with high costs
, the industry group said.

FEIQUE SAID THAT IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2022, PRODUCTION GROWTH IN THE SPANISH CHEMICAL SECTOR WAS HEALTHY, BUT PRODUCTION COLLAPSED IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR AS ENERGY PRICES SOARED AND COMPANIES STRUGGLED TO CONTROL INPUT COSTS
.
Energy price factors mainly affect basic chemicals, which are more directly affected
by energy costs.
According to FEIQUE, production of basic chemicals in Spain has fallen by 6%
as of September 2022.

Teresa Lacero, the new president of FEIQUE and head of Air Liquide's Iberia region, said: "Due to the rising price of natural gas, we have faced a huge challenge since 2021, and this challenge began to accelerate
after the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
This situation will not only continue to lead to high energy prices, but also to shortages of many raw materials in the
economy's main value chains.
”

Lasero added that the EU and Spanish cabinets should agree on measures to limit gas prices, either by setting a maximum purchase price through joint purchases or by directly intervening in European gas benchmark prices
.
FEIQUE noted that the price cap on natural gas should also apply to chemicals that use natural gas as a feedstock for production, not just energy
.
Natural gas as a feedstock is used in various processes to produce a variety of basic chemicals, such as ammonia, ethylene or methanol, which affect the production of
products such as fertilizers, synthetic fibers, paints, insulation, detergents, polymers and lubricants.