Plastic production in Europe in 2023 decreased by 8.3%, according to the industry organization Plastics Europe. According to its managing director, Virginia Janssens, the decline was stronger than expected.
At the same time, global plastic production grew by 3.4%, in particular due to the scale-up of production in China and the United States. According to S&P Global, China accounted for 60% of the growth in petrochemical capacity last year.
The share of European suppliers in the global market will decline to 12% in 2023 from 28% in 2006. In addition, due to declining demand, the volume of mechanical plastic recycling in Europe last year fell for the first time since 2018, Plastics Europe noted. This is the most common recycling method in the region.
In October, the industry organization Plastics Recyclers Europe pointed out the alarming nature of the downward trend in the European plastic recycling market, which is why many companies are leaving it. Among other things, the market is under pressure from an oversupply of virgin plastic outside Europe.
Businesses are also dissatisfied with European legislation aimed at achieving ambitious climate goals. According to the companies, it is “stifling growth,” the FT writes. American ExxonMobil (SPB: XOM) and Saudi Arabia’s SABIC this year announced their intention to close petrochemical plants in Europe. LyondellBasell, Versalis, and Trinseo are also going to close their sites or revise their plans for them.
Europe will need to rethink its support of Ukraine if Donald Trump is elected president of the United States, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Sunday, as the continent “will not be able to bear the burdens of the war alone”.
Orban opposes military aid to Ukraine and has made clear he thinks Trump shares his views and would negotiate a peace settlement for Ukraine.
He backs former president Trump, the Republic candidate, to beat Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s U.S. election.
“We (in Europe) need to realize that if there will be a pro-peace president in America, which I not only believe in but I also read the numbers that way, … if what we expect happens and America becomes pro-peace, then Europe cannot remain pro-war,” Orban said.
Ukraine will be high on the agenda when European leaders meet in Budapest in the coming week, he said, referring to a European Political Community meeting and a more informal meeting of EU leaders due to take place.
“Europe cannot bear the burden of [the war] alone, and if Americans switch to peace, then we also need to adapt, and this is what we will discuss in Budapest,” Orban said.
Europe is jittery about how the outcome of the U.S. election will affect the war in Ukraine and the continent’s security.
Orban has angered Brussels with his close ties to Russia and opposition to aid for Ukraine.
Hungary’s foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said in July that the Hungarian government sees Trump as a “chance for peace” in Ukraine.
In July Orban said his team was assisting Trump’s aides with policies on families and migration. On Thursday, he called Trump to wish him good luck ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Two Ukrainian producers of chicken and eggs, MHP and Avangard, topped the list of European producers of chicken and eggs and took 15th place in the global ranking, according to the WattPoultry magazine, which researches the global market for the production, processing and sale of poultry products.
According to the ranking, MHP agricultural holding topped the list of broiler producers in the European Union and took 15th place in the world ranking with a production of 704 thousand tons of chicken meat per year.
Ukrainian agricultural holding Avangard was ranked first among egg producers in the European Union and 15th among world leaders with a production of 13.3 million eggs.
“Demand for chicken meat continues to grow and consumption is expected to increase by 16% between 2024 and 2033, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization, which is obviously good news for global poultry producers. Nothing is guaranteed, but as demand remains high, companies in our industry at least have plenty of opportunities to capitalize on them,” the publication emphasized.
The compilers of the rating reminded that broiler and egg producers, wherever they are in the world, are forced to deal with disease outbreaks and increasingly stringent regulations. However, they can at least be sure that demand for their products will continue.
MHP is the largest chicken producer in Ukraine. It produces grain, sunflower oil, and processed meat products.
In 2023, the company earned $142 million in net profit compared to a net loss of $231 million a year earlier. Last year, the group’s revenue increased by 14% to $3.021 billion.
As reported, in March 2022, Avangard announced losses of UAH 1.5 billion since the beginning of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. Russian aggression has led to the shutdown of a number of the group’s key poultry farms, and chickens at the Chornobaivska poultry farm (Bilozerka, Kherson region) were left without food and died.
“Ukrlandfarming is one of the largest agricultural holdings in Eurasia. It is engaged in growing grain, raising cattle, and distributing machinery, fertilizers, and seeds. “Avangard, a part of it, is Ukraine’s largest producer of eggs and egg products.
European paint manufacturers are pushing for a review of the European Union’s anti-dumping measures against Chinese exports of titanium dioxide, a key raw material for the industry, saying that they will lead to the closure of plants and further destruction of the region’s industrial base, the Financial Times reports.
Following an anti-dumping investigation launched last year, the European Union imposed temporary duties that could be adjusted or confirmed in January 2025. Paint companies fear that duties of up to 39.7% on titanium dioxide from China will bankrupt small producers and force large ones to move plants outside the EU.
“It’s a question of the survival of the industry,” believes Nicolas Dujardin, chief operating officer of family-owned French paint manufacturer Oceinde. – “If all these anti-dumping investigations lead to such high taxes in Europe, there will be a number of bankruptcies.
The paint and coatings sector will face a prolonged downturn if consumers are hit by higher prices, says Paula Salastie, owner of Finnish company Teknos. If Chinese supplies are diverted elsewhere, a shortage of raw materials will lead to disruptions in production, she says.
“If we can’t sell as much as we planned, we will need to cut jobs,” she said, adding that if duties are imposed, the company will probably look at options for investments outside the EU.
Paint makers believe the duties would be acceptable if introduced gradually along with increased subsidies for local titanium dioxide production.
China’s titanium dioxide capacity has grown from 1.4 million tons in 2008 to a projected 6.1 million tons this year. As a result, China’s share of the global market has risen to 83% from 29%, according to industry information provider TZMI.
Meanwhile, outside China, about 1.1 million tons of capacity was closed during the period, including five plants in the EU, according to estimates by the European TiO2 Coalition, which filed a complaint that led to the launch of an anti-dumping investigation. Paint producers expect the duties imposed in the EU to benefit the UK and also strengthen Turkish competitors, as both countries will still be able to access cheap Chinese raw materials.
Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) has updated information on the temporary cancellation and rerouting of a number of flights due to the massive flooding in Eastern Europe, including the cancellation of the Vienna-Budapest-Kyiv flight, the rerouting of the Chop-Vienna-Chop flight, and the introduction of shuttle service on the Prague-Premyshl-Prague flight.
“The Vienna – Budapest – Kyiv flight has been canceled today. Passengers with tickets in Vienna are asked to come to the information and service center and receive vouchers for free accommodation,” the company said on its Telegram channel.
For its part, Ukrzaliznytsia clarified that the Kyiv-Budapest-Vienna flight will be heading to Budapest. The company also announced a change in the route of Chop-Vienna-Chop flights, which will be detoured to the final station of the route.
The company also informs about the cancellation of train traffic on the route Prague – Przemysl – Prague and the organization of alternative routes.
“Prague-Premysl-Prague trains are not yet able to pass the flooded area on the Czech-Polish border. Tomorrow, shuttle traffic is expected from Prague to the border and from Przemyśl to the border with a bus shuttle around the flooded area,” the carrier said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan discussed the security situation in Europe and the South Caucasus on the margins of the Dubrovnik Forum in Croatia.
“I thanked Armenia for participating in the first Peace Summit in Switzerland and informed my counterpart about further work on the implementation of the Peace Formula on the way to a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine,” Kuleba wrote on social network X.
The ministers also focused on ways to deepen bilateral ties and international cooperation, especially in light of Ukraine’s future membership in the EU.
