Germany's chemical industry association VCI(Frankfurt)says it expects the country's production of chemicals and pharmaceuticals to fall by 3% in 2020 compared with the prior year,with annual sales to decline by 6%.A return to pre-COVID-19 levels is not expected before the end of 2021 at the earliest,it says.The forecast of a 3% decline in annual production is a downward revision of VCI's previous expectation,issued in March,for a decrease of 1.5%.Initial signs of a recovery are,however,now being seen,says Christian Kullmann,VCI president and chairman of Evonik Industries."If another shutdown can be avoided,demand for chemicals and pharmaceuticals is expected to stabilize in the second half of the year,"he says.
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