A report says they will face tough environmental and social regulations

A report says they will face tough environmental and social regulations

The Reach directive on registering chemicals could have “huge consequences” for small producers in the EU’s 10 new member states, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. In its report Looking forward: the impact of EU enlargement on the chemical industry, PwC said small polymer producers would continue to be competitive but face an uphill struggle to meet tough environmental and social regulations.

Low labour costs enable polymer producers to offer competitive prices in their own countries, despite ageing plants and smaller production capacities. But “the rapid growth of local markets, the competitive threats posed by producers in other regions and the continuing restructuring of the chemical sector suggest that further consolidation is likely in the future”, PwC said.

The report was more optimistic on the outlook for rubber manufacturers in the 10 new member states: “Although global [rubber] demand has slowed in the past decade, growth in Central and Eastern Europe, which is dependent on the automotive industry and general economic activity, is now generally expected to be more buoyant.”