Exports to Europe contributed to eighth consecutive year of growth

Exports to Europe contributed to eighth consecutive year of growth

French plastics production crept ahead again last year, fuelled by exports to the rest of Europe. Syndicat des Producteurs de Matiиres Plastiques (SPMP), the trade body that represents French materials producers, reported a 0.8% growth in plastics output in 2003, to 6.7 million tonnes. This is the eighth consecutive year of production growth. It equated to a 1.4% increase in sales to E7.5bn.

The main growth areas were polypropylene (up 3%), styrenics (up 11%) and unsaturated polyesters (up 6%). Packaging remained the main end market at 40% (down 2%), followed by construction at 22%, transport at 14% (up 1%) and electronics at 7% (down 1%). Applications in the medical industry, which account for 1% of sales, grew by more than 5% last year. SPMP expects plastics output to continue growing in the medium term.