The chemical industry is demanding immediate interventions to deal with the impact on the sector of the energy price surge by sending SOS to production, employment, and impacting the supply chain of other sectors of economic activity. The Hellenic Chemical Industries Association (HCHEB) yesterday released an IOBE study on the impact of energy costs in the sector and specific proposals to address them, and warned of a significant price burden on products such as fertilizers, petrochemicals, paints and industrial gases. . Rising prices for chemical products due to increased energy costs have an impact on demand and, ultimately, on the level of production of the domestic chemical industry. According to the IOBE study, depending on the extent to which this affects demand, total chemical production is expected to be 1.7% to 5.6% lower in 2022 than in 2021.

The impact on GDP can range from 42 million to 140 million, and the impact on employment can range from 702 to 2,339 jobs. By subsidizing energy prices, the impact is reduced from 19 to 63 million and from 316 to 1,054 jobs. The sectors experiencing the most pressure at the industrial level are petrochemicals, basic inorganic chemicals, industrial gases, dyes and fertilizers. In some sectors, the growth in energy costs is a multiple of value added, so the only possible reaction in the short term, according to the Association, is a significant increase in prices for manufactured chemical products, but this will limit demand, profitability and undermine the competitiveness of enterprises. The chemical industry for the production of chemical products, such as fertilizers, consumes four times more than the consumption of natural gas for thermal needs.

Soaring natural gas prices are impacting product categories such as fertilizers, petrochemicals, paints and industrial gases. SEXB proposes to change the way electricity is priced, the broader institutional structure in the European Union that the Greek government is aiming for, exemption from the tax burden on natural gas destined for chemical synthesis, the promotion of energy conservation programs and no commitment to horizontal reduction. energy consumption. He also calls for the effective implementation of the EU directive in Greece as well. which establishes a maximum inter-company credit time that allows manufacturing firms to free up capital and invest it in research and technology, outsourcing and general growth.