on economic activity. In Germany,
the IMF estimates that
economic output grew by 2.7 %, following a decline of 4.6 %
in the previous year.
According to current IMF estimates, the economies of
the Americas developed positively overall in 2021, albeit
with slight differences. While the U.S. exceeded its pre-crisis
level with growth in gross value added of 5.6 %, Canada
did not with growth of 4.7 %. The Latin American countries
grew by 6.8 % overall, roughly offsetting the previous
year’s decline. According to the IMF, Brazil achieved growth
of 4.7 %, more than compensating for the pandemic-
related losses.
According to the IMF, Asia was also able to achieve
an overall increase in gross domestic product in 2021,
but here too with varying intensity. China, which posted
growth of 2.3 % in the previous year, closed 2021 with a
growth rate of 8.1 %. India, which incurred severe losses in
2020 (- 7.3 %), grew by 9.0 %. According to IMF estimates,
growth was lower in the largest economies of Southeast Asia.
The IMF anticipates that the countries of the ASEAN 5
group achieved overall growth of 3.1 %. Japan’s growth is
estimated at only 1.6 %.
Industry-Specific Framework Conditions
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) estimates that global
chemical production grew by 5.8 % in the past fiscal year
(previous year: - 0.2 %). This development corresponds to the
overall economic growth in 2021, but was not reflected
equally in all regions.
According to estimates by the German Chemical
Industry Association (VCI), Germany, Europe’s largest chemical
producer, recorded growth of 5.2 % for the industry
as a whole. Excluding the share of the pharmaceutical sector,
slightly lower growth is expected for the past fiscal year
(VCI: 4.9 %). High growth rates were also reported in other
Eurozone countries, such as Italy (VCI: 7.6 %) and France
52 Business Development
Business Development
General Business Setting
Overall Economic Situation
Following the coronavirus pandemic-related declines in economic
output in 2020, 2021 was characterized by an
exceptionally strong demand-driven economic development.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) currently estimates
that global economic output will increase by 5.9 % in 2021.
The recovery of the global economy, which was already
becoming apparent at the end of 2020, continued over the
course of the year at roughly the level forecast for 2021.
Despite recurring waves of infection, renewed comprehensive
lockdown measures with a massive impact on the industry
were largely averted through the use of newly developed vaccines
and expanded testing capacities. However, as a result
of the sharp increase in demand, energy and raw material prices
rose significantly in the course of the year. A shortage
of services and transport capacity in the logistics sector had
an additional negative effect on global supply chains and
the development of economic performance in individual economies.
All countries achieved solid to high growth rates
in 2021. As a result, many regions reached or exceeded the
pre-crisis level of their economic performance. But at the
end of the year the economy weakened again somewhat due
to ongoing price increases and the emergence of new
coronavirus variants.
According to IMF estimates, the Eurozone achieved
5.2 % growth in 2021. As a result, the decrease in economic
output in the previous year (- 6.4 %) would be only par-
tially offset. No country was able to fully compensate for the
crisis-induced slump. Despite good demand, growth in
the Eurozone slowed. The main reasons for this, particularly
in the second half of the year, were the sharp rise in ener-
gy prices and the sustained disruption of supply chains. In
addition, the emergence of new waves of infections led
to renewed restrictions on public life, thus putting a burden