Chemical and pharma sector sees another year of decline
Belgium's chemical and pharmaceutical sector has had another difficult year, according to essenscia, the trade association representing companies in the sector. Exports and employment are both declining, essenscia warns, and Belgium is struggling to attract major investment in new production facilities.
The investment figures, at first glance, appear positive: spending in the sector rose by 9 per cent in 2025 to 4.1 billion euros. However, essenscia's managing director Yves Verschueren cautions that these are investments decided upon between 2018 and 2020, when the sector was still booming. "That is the realisation of better times," he says. "The announcement of new projects has ground to a halt."
More layoffs, fewer exports
Beyond the investment slowdown, the sector is looking back on a year marked by job losses and falling exports. Nearly 1,600 positions were cut in 2025, the second consecutive year of employment decline, particularly in the chemicals and plastics segment in Flanders. Total employment in the sector now stands below 100,000.
Belgium remains among the top three European exporters in the sector, behind Ireland and front-runner Germany. But the country's exports of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and plastics are losing ground outside the EU, falling by almost 10 per cent in 2025.
Belgium risks falling behind
Business confidence in the chemical sector has fallen to its lowest level since 1980, and essenscia warns that without government intervention, Belgium will miss the next investment cycle entirely. Verschueren argues that there is no single solution: everything must be tackled simultaneously, and policy implementation must be faster and more effective.
Priorities include lower energy prices, a reform of the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS) to ensure fairer global competition, stricter enforcement of the bloc's import rules, accelerated licensing procedures and reduced administrative burdens, essenscia says.
Despite the negative outlook, there are some positive developments in the industry. For instance, spending on research and development remains strong, reaching 7 billion euros last year. "But we must ensure that production also takes place in our country," the trade association stresses.
© BELGA PHOTO LUC CLAESSEN
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