The Spanish industry dedicated to the transformation of plastics has seen how in 2025 the trade deficit of transformed products has doubled and "loses industrial muscle against imports," despite the fact that in 2024 it achieved an unprecedented level of investment and anticipates a rebound in revenues for the current fiscal year, as detailed this Wednesday by the Spanish Association of Plastics Industries (Anaip).
In a public note, the employers' association warns of a "growing pressure" on the competitiveness of the sector, which has experienced four years without job creation, suffers a "progressive" loss of companies, and bears an increase in the weight of purchases from abroad.
Looking ahead to 2026, the group expects an increase in turnover, but also a decrease in added value due to the rising costs on a global scale, as reflected in the "X-ray of the plastics transformation industry in Spain," prepared by Anaip based on a report from Deepview and statistics from INE, DataComex, and Plastics Europe.
The document details that last year the trade deficit of transformed products stood at 810,000 tons, almost double the 446,000 tons recorded in 2016.
Purchases from China have increased by more than 130% in the last decade, a dynamic that, as the association warns, could transfer productive capacity, investment, and jobs out of Spain, in an environment marked by significant differences in the costs of raw materials, energy, and labor, as well as in regulatory and environmental requirements.
In contrast, investment reached 1.141 billion euros in 2024, the highest level in the historical series. Anaip attributes this milestone to the efforts of companies to sustain their industrial capacity and advance in innovation and circularity, although it emphasizes that employment "has remained stagnant" since 2021 and that the business fabric has been on a path of reduction since 2017.
The sector organization identifies among the "main pressure factors on competitiveness" the loss of market share against imported transformed products and points out as a "determining factor" the tax on non-reusable plastic packaging, which would create a "competitive disadvantage" for national firms and whose effect it qualifies as "devastating" for the entire industry.
Forecasts for 2026 and demands from the sector
The analysis by Anaip projects for 2026 an increase in the turnover, accompanied by a decrease in added value due to the rise in global costs, which "erodes" the profitability of companies.
In the same vein, it emphasizes that the loss of competitiveness against imported processed products may lead to the relocation of production, investment, and employment outside Spanish territory.
The report also recalls that Spanish plastic processing companies currently use 21.4% of post-consumer recycled material in the manufacture of new items, a percentage higher than the European average, although this level remains "stagnant in the face of uncertainty and loss of competitiveness."
"Maintaining a competitive processing industry is a necessary condition to continue advancing in circularity, as it is these companies that incorporate recycled material, develop eco-design solutions, and invest in innovation," they affirm from the association.
The sectoral analysis identifies eight key areas to strengthen competitiveness, including the simplification of regulations, control of imports to ensure they meet the same standards as products manufactured in Spain, reduction of industrial costs, strong promotion of innovation, and reinforcement of the circular economy.
Based on this diagnosis, the study proposes four priority action axes to strengthen the Spanish processing industry: ensuring access to raw materials and energy under competitive conditions, reviewing the tax on non-reusable plastic packaging, intensifying market surveillance and control of imports, and promoting the availability of quality recycled material at competitive prices.