Insufficient investment in R&D has hampered the EU’s competitiveness in the chemicals industry, according to a study.
The report, commissioned by the European chemical industry council Cefic, was compiled by Oxford Economics and published on 20 November. It finds that high energy costs and low spending on R&D over the past two decades has decreased the EU’s share of global exports in chemicals.
The decline in competitiveness has resulted in the EU’s share of global exports dropping by 10 per cent between 1991 and 2012, the study states. The EU is struggling to compete with the Middle East and the United States, both of which are benefiting from a shale gas boom, it states.
This article is only available to Research Professional News subscribers or Pivot-RP users.
If you are a Research Professional News subscriber you can log in and view the article via this link
Pivot-RP users can log in and view the article via this link.