Archive:Pesticide, paint, soap and fibre production statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
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- Data from January 2009. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article belongs to a set of statistical articles which analyse the structure, development and characteristics of the various economic activities in the European Union (EU). The present article covers the production of pesticide, paint, soap and fibre, which is part of the fuel and chemicals production sector. The activities covered in this article correspond to five different NACE Rev 1.1 groups, which cover the manufacture of:
- pesticides and other agro-chemical products (NACE Group 24.2);
- paints and printing inks (NACE Group 24.3), which includes paints, varnishes, enamels, lacquers, solvents, thinners, varnish removers and printing inks;
- soaps, detergents and toiletries (NACE Group 24.5), which includes washing and cleaning products, perfumes, toiletries and cosmetics;
- other chemical products (NACE Group 24.6), a residual grouping that includes the manufacture of photographic materials, explosives, glues and essential oils, as well as intermediate inputs for other manufacturing processes;
- man-made fibres (NACE Group 24.7).
_Structural_profile,_EU-27,_2006.PNG)
Main statistical findings
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The pesticide, paint, soap and fibre production sector (NACE Groups 24.2, 24.3, 24.5, 24.6 and 24.7) comprised a total of a little over 20.5 thousand enterprises across the EU-27 in 2005 that employed 708.8 thousand persons in 2006. These enterprises generated EUR 197.3 billion of turnover of which EUR 51.4 billion was left as value added in 2006, a little less than a quarter (22.6 % in 2005) of the total value added generated across fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing in the EU-27.
Manufacture of pesticides and other agro-chemical products
There were just over 600 enterprises across the EU-27 for which the manufacture of pesticides and other agro-chemical products was their main activity in 2005. These enterprises employed 29.1 thousand people, accounting for 1.4 % of the workforce across fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing in 2006. The sector generated value added of EUR 2.7 billion in 2006, representing a slightly lower share (1.2 % in 2005) of the value added generated within fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing activities.
Among the Member States, the main producer of pesticides and other agro-chemical products was Germany, accounting for over one third (37.6 %) of the value added generated in the EU-27 and employing a little less than one quarter (23.5 %) of the total workforce. In value added terms, Germany was also the Member State most specialised in this activity.
After a period of annual fluctuations, there was a clear downward trend in the production index of pesticides and other agro-chemical products across the EU-27 between 2001 and 2007 (an average decline of 2.5 % per year). In large part, this decline may be linked to improved incentives to farm in an environmentally sensitive way since the so-called Agenda 2000 reform of the Common agricultural policy (CAP).
EU-27 tangible investment in the pesticides and other agro-chemical products manufacturing sector was EUR 0.3 billion in 2006, a relatively small 0.9 % share of total tangible investment within fuel processing and chemical manufacturing. Relative to value added generated across the sector, this was the equivalent of an investment rate of 10.5 %, which was notably less than the rate of 14.4 % for the whole of fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing in 2005.
Personnel costs accounted for 14.6 % of operating expenditure in this sector in 2006, a little more than the average across fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing (11.7 % in 2005). There was almost no difference in average personnel costs, however, which were EUR 55.0 thousand per employee for the EU-27’s pesticides and other agro-chemical products manufacturing sector. The apparent labour productivity of those working in this sector was EUR 93.3 thousand per person employed, slightly more than 10 % below the average for fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing in 2005. The wage adjusted labour productivity ratio of the pesticides and other agro-chemical products manufacturing sector was 169.6 % in 2006.
Manufacture of paints and printing inks
Paint and printing inks manufacturing was the principal activity of 4.5 thousand enterprises across the EU-27 in 2006, providing employment for and estimated 174.0 thousand people, the equivalent of 8.4 % of the fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing workforce. The paint and printing inks manufacturing sector generated EUR 12.0 billion of value added in the EU-27 in 2006, of which three tenths (29.9 %) came from these activities in Germany and a similar, combined, proportion from the United Kingdom (15.4 %) and Italy (13.8 %). Although there was moderate specialisation in this activity in Germany, specialisation was stronger in both Estonia and Slovenia, where the value added generated by their respective paints and printing inks manufacturing sectors made about twice the contribution to their national non-financial business economies as was the average across the EU-27.
During the period between 1997 and 2007, there were three relatively distinct developments in the production index of paints and printing inks; in the period between 2000 and 2005, there was little change in EU-27 output, either side of which there was relatively strong growth. Over the ten year period as a whole, growth in output averaged 2.0 % per year.
EU-27 tangible investment in the paint and printing inks manufacturing sector was EUR 1.1 billion in 2006. Compared with the value added generated by this sector, this represented a relatively low investment rate of 9.0 % even when compared with the average rate across fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing (14.4 % in 2005). In contrast, personnel costs represented a relatively high proportion of operating expenditure (18.6 % compared with 11.7 % in 2005 for fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing), despite average personnel costs in the paints and printing inks sector (EUR 43 400 per employee) being relatively low.
The apparent labour productivity of those working in the EU-27’s paints and printing inks manufacturing sector was EUR 69.1 thousand per person employed in 2006, about EUR 36.0 thousand less per person than the average level across fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing in 2005. Even after taking into account relatively lower average personnel costs, the wage adjusted labour productivity ratio of the paints and printing inks sector (159.3 %) remained some way beneath the average ratio for fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing (194.9 % in 2005), although it was still just above the average ratio across the non-financial business economy.
Manufacture of soaps, detergents and toiletries
There were 8.3 thousand enterprises across the EU-27 for which the manufacture of soaps, detergents and toiletries was their main activity in 2006. These enterprises employed 266.4 thousand persons, accounting for 12.9 % of the total workforce in fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing. In relative terms, the sector was rather larger in terms of employment than in terms of the value added generated (EUR 17.8 billion).
The manufacture of perfumes and toilet preparations (NACE Class 24.52) in the EU-27 was slightly larger than the manufacture of soap and detergents (NACE Class 24.51), generating EUR 1.2 billion more value added in 2006. Among almost all of the Member States, however, the soap and detergents subsector was much the larger of the two. The overall picture for the EU-27 was shaped largely by the size of the perfumes and toiletries manufacturing sector in France; it accounted for 40.9 % of EU-27 value added compared with a share of only 10.9 % within the soap and detergents manufacturing subsector. Poland and France were the only two Member States that were significantly relatively specialised in soaps, detergent and toiletries manufacturing in the EU-27, the contribution of value added to their respective non-financial business economies being about twice the average across the EU-27.
There was relatively little change in the EU-27 production index of the soaps, detergents and toiletries manufacturing sector between 1997 and 2001. However, there then followed a period of accelerated growth through to 2007 (at an average rate of 3.3 % per year). These two distinct periods reflected a relative balance between the output growth of perfumes and toilet preparations manufacturing and output declines for soap and detergent manufacturing up to 2001, followed by relatively strong growth in the output of both subsectors through to 2007.
Tangible investment in the soaps, detergents and toiletries sector of the EU-27 was EUR 2.1 billion in 2006, accounting for 6.4 % of total tangible investment across fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing, rather less than its relative share of value added (8.2 % in 2005). This explains the relatively low investment rate of 12.1 % in 2006. In contrast, personnel costs represented a relatively high proportion of operating expenditure (16.5 % compared with 11.7 % in 2005 across fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing), despite average personnel costs for the soaps, detergents and toiletries sector (EUR 40 800 per employee) being about one quarter (24.5 %) lower.
The apparent labour productivity of those working in the soaps, detergents and toiletries sector in the EU-27 was EUR 66.8 thousand per person employed in 2006, about a third less than the average productivity of those working across fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing in 2005. This relative difference was narrowed somewhat when adjusting productivity for wage differences; the wage adjusted labour productivity ratio was 163.6 % in 2006, compared with an average of 194.9 % for fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing in 2005.
Manufacture of other chemical products
The manufacture of other chemical products, such as photographic materials, explosives, glues and essential oils was the principal activity of about 6.8 thousand enterprises across the EU-27 in 2006. This grouping of activities provided employment for 195.6 thousand people across the EU-27, a little less than one tenth (9.5 %) of the total fuel processing and chemical manufacturing workforce. The sector generated turnover of EUR 57.3 billion in 2006, of which a little over one quarter was left as value added (EUR 16.2 billion).
A clear majority of both the value added generated in the sector (62.1 %) and the number of persons employed (59.8 %) came from the manufacturing subsector of other chemical products not elsewhere classified (NACE Class 24.66), such as the manufacture of writing inks, lubricating preparations, additives and anti-freezing preparations.
The other chemical products manufacturing sector in Germany generated about one quarter (25.5 %) of the value added generated by this sector across the EU-27 in 2006, more than any other Member State. However, the only Member State that was highly specialised in this group of manufacturing activities was Belgium, the contribution of value added from this sector to its non-financial business economy being almost four times the EU-27 average.
The overall rise in the EU-27 production index of other chemicals manufacturing during the period between 1997 and 2007 was largely determined by the strong growth in the output of other chemical products not elsewhere classified (NACE Class 24.66) in the four years after 2003 (an overall increase of 21.4 %).
Tangible investment in the other chemicals manufacturing sector was EUR 2.1 billion in 2006, representing 6.2 % of total tangible investment across fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing in the EU-27. This represented a slightly lower proportion than that of the sector’s contribution to value added, which was reflected in a lower investment rate (12.7 %) in 2006 than across fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing as a whole in 2005. Personnel costs represented a relatively high proportion (17.6 %) of operating expenditure in the EU-27’s other chemicals manufacturing sector in 2006 when compared with fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing (11.7 % in 2005), despite average personnel costs being about 15 % lower.
The apparent labour productivity of those working across the EU-27 in the other chemical products manufacturing sector was EUR 82.8 thousand per person employed in 2006, about a fifth lower than the average for fuel processing and chemical manufacturing in 2005. The difference in productivity was narrowed when taking the lower average personnel costs of the sector into account; the average wage adjusted labour productivity ratio for the other chemical products manufacturing sector of the EU-27 was 177.6 % in 2006.
Manufacture of man-made fibres
The man-made fibres manufacturing sector in the EU-27 only comprised 355 enterprises in 2006. This relatively small sector employed 43.7 thousand persons, representing 2.1 % of all those working throughout fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing in the EU-27. This sector's value added was EUR 2.6 billion in 2006, and its contribution to the total for fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing in value added terms was about half its contribution in employment terms.
Among the Member States, by far the largest man-made fibres manufacturing sector was in Germany; it contributed almost one third (33.1 %) of the EU-27’s total value added. However, Austria was clearly the Member State most specialised in this manufacturing activity, the contribution of the value added of the man-made fibres manufacturing sector to its non-financial business economy being about four and a half times the EU-27 average.
There was a distinct downward trend in the EU-27 production index for man-made fibres in the ten year period through until 2007, although there were some temporary upturns (such as in 2000 and 2004). Between 1997 and 2007, the average rate of decline in the output of man-made fibres manufacturing across the EU-27 was 3.2 % per year, with notably faster rates of decline in Italy (an average -6.1 % per year), the United Kingdom (-7.3 %) and Spain (-8.7 %). This downward trend contrasted sharply with the increasing trend of output observed for the EU-27’s production index for fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing over the same period.
Tangible investment in the EU-27’s man-made fibres manufacturing sector was EUR 0.5 billion in 2005, the equivalent of 1.5 % of the total tangible investment across fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing. Although small, this share represented slightly more than the equivalent share in terms of value added, resulting in an investment rate (17.4 %) for man-made fibres manufacturing sector that was higher than the average (14.4 %) for the whole of fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing in 2005.
Although average personnel costs (EUR 40.9 thousand per employee in 2006) in the EU-27’s man-made fibres manufacturing sector were low, about a quarter less than the average for fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing, the share of personnel costs in operating expenditure was notably higher (15.4 % in 2006 – down from 19.0 % in 2005 – compared with 11.7 % in 2005 for fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing as a whole).
The apparent labour productivity of those working in the man-made fibres manufacturing sector was EUR 60.4 thousand per person employed in 2006, about two fifths (42.7 %) less than the average value added generated per person employed across fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing in the EU-27 in 2005. The value added generated per person employed in the sector was a little less than 50 % higher than average personnel costs in 2006, which can be seen from a wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio of (147.9 %. considerably less than the ratio for the whole of fuel processing and chemicals manufacturing (194.9 % in 2005).
Data sources and availability
The main part of the analysis in this article is derived from structural business statistics (SBS), including core, business statistics which are disseminated regularly, as well as information compiled on a multi-yearly basis, and the latest results from development projects.
Other data sources include short-term statistics (STS) snd the PRODCOM statistics on the production of manufactured goods.
Context
Enterprises in the fuel processing and chemicals sector operate within a highly regulated framework that extends from the supply of the raw materials, through their processing to the treatment of waste. The Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemical substances (the so-called REACH Regulation) came into force on 1 July 2007, with the main aims of improving the protection of human health and the environment from risks posed by chemicals. The first list of 15 chemicals to undergo scrutiny was published by the European Chemicals Agency in October 2008. A new European Parliament and Council Regulation on the classification, labelling and packaging of chemical substances and mixtures (CLP) was adopted in December 2008, in order to align the labelling and description of hazards around the world. The CLP Regulation entered into force on 20 January 2009, with the deadline for substance classification according to the new rules by 1 December 2010 and for mixtures by 1 June 2015.
The fuel processing and chemicals sector faces a number of key challenges; these are energy and raw materials supply, climate change and barriers to market entry in emerging countries. Against this background, the High Level Group on the Competitiveness of the European Chemicals Industry, which was first proposed by the European Commission in June 2007 (COM(2007) 418), released its final strategy report in February 2009. The strategies focus on more innovation and research (see the importance of this in the article called Pharmaceuticals production statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1), the responsible use of resources and a level playing field for sourcing energy and raw materials, and a drive to open world markets.
Further Eurostat information
Publications
Main tables
Database
Dedicated section
Other information
- Decision (2007/418) of 14 June 2007 setting up the High Level Group on the Competitiveness of the Chemicals Industry in the European Union
- Regulation (1272/2008 of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, amending and repealing Directives 67/548 and 1999/45, and amending Regulation 1907/2006