Düsseldorf (dpa/lnw) - Plastics production in North Rhine-Westphalia increased production volumes slightly last year and was able to benefit from higher prices. While 2.8 percent more was produced in 2021 than in the previous year, the sales value rose by around 35 percent to 11.4 billion euros, as reported by the State Statistical Office IT.NRW on Monday. The sales value was also significantly (around 22 percent) above that of the pre-crisis year 2019.
According to the statistics office, a total of 6.4 million tons of plastics and 402,000 tons of synthetic rubber were produced in the 88 companies in NRW in 2021. The focal points of the industry in the most populous federal state are the administrative districts of Düsseldorf and Cologne, where almost four fifths of the NRW sales value are generated.
This year, the positive price trend initially continued: in the first half of 2022, 90 companies in NRW produced almost 4 percent less than in the same period of the previous year, but the sales value increased by around 27 percent to 6.9 billion euros. The average sales value per ton of plastic and rubber was 2054 euros in the first half of 2022, which is almost a third more than a year earlier.
