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  • Pages
01 Cover
02 Welcome Letter / Sections
03 Section 1: Latin America
04 Latin America Resilience
05 Interview: APLA
06 Interview: S&P Commodity Insights
07 Interview: ExxonMobil Chemical
08 Interview: INEOS Styrolution Americas
09 Sustainability
10 Interview: Tecnon OrbiChem
11 Interview: Pilot Chemical Company
12 Interview: Air Products
13 Industry Thoughts: Decarbonization
14 Section 2: Mexico
15 Mexico Overview
16 Factsheet: Mexico
17 Interview: National Chemical Industry Association (ANIQ)
18 Interview: Braskem Idesa
19 Interview: Grupo Idesa
20 Interview: Evonik Industries Mexico
21 Interview: Unigel Mexico
22 Interview: Helm de Mexico
23 Section 3: Brazil
24 Brazil Overview
25 Factsheet: Brazil
26 Interview: ABIQUIM
27 Interview: Braskem
28 Interview: Indorama Ventures Limited
29 Interview: Elekeiroz
30 Interview: Petrom Petroquímica Mogi das Cruzes S.A.
31 Interview: Ultracargo
32 Section 4: Argentina
33 Argentina Overview
34 Factsheet: Argentina
35 Interview: Argentine Chamber of the Chemical and Petrochemical Industry (CIQyP)
36 Interview: Argentine Petrochemical Institute (IPA)
37 Interview: YPF QUÍMICA
38 Interview: Petrocuyo
39 Interview: Petroquímica Rio Tercero
40 Section 5: Andean Region
41 Andean Region Overview
42 Factsheet: Chile
43 Factsheet: Colombia
44 Interview: Acoplásticos
45 Interview: Chilean Chemical Industry Association (ASIQUIM)
46 Interview: Ecopetrol
47 Interview: Petroquim
48 Factsheet: Peru
49 Factsheet: Ecuador
50 Factsheet: Bolivia
51 Factsheet: Venezuela
52 Section 6: Chemical Distribution
53 Chemical Distribution
54 Interview: Brenntag Essentials Latin America
55 Interview: Univar Solutions
56 Interview: Química Anastacio
57 Interview: GTM Caldic
58 Interview: Pochteca
59 Interview: Tricon Energy
60 Section 7: Logistics
61 Logistics and Services
62 Interview: Leschaco
63 Interview: Vopak
64 Interview: Eurotainer
65 Interview: Stolthaven Terminals
66 Interview: Port of Antwerp-Bruges
67 Industry Thoughts: Logistics Innovation
68 Company Profiles (Sponsored Content)
69 Braskem Profile (Sponsored Content)
70 YPF QUÍMICA Profile (Sponsored Content)
71 Brenntag Profile (Sponsored Content)
72 Evonik Profile (Sponsored Content)
73 Article & Interview Index
74 Credits

Daniel Mitchell President, ACOPLÁSTICOS

"Colombia has great potential for increasing exports in the chemical sector as we have competitiveness in terms of inputs and raw materials."

How would you evaluate the last year for Colombia’s chemicals and petrochemicals sectors?

Growth rates were high compared to 2020. Basic chemicals saw 1.5% growth in 2020, but 27.7% growth in 2021. The other chemical products market grew by 14.5% in 2021, with plastic products seeing an increase of 21.8% in that same year. We continue to get good signals from the market. 2022 has also been positive with high first semester growth rates above 15% for plastic and for other chemicals products.

Which macro factors are stimulating a rise in Colombian exports?

Colombia has great potential for increasing exports in the chemical sector as we have competitiveness in terms of inputs and raw materials. Also, the Colombian peso is currently a devaluated currency, which opens an oppprtunity for local companies to increase exports to new markets, in addition to our traditional trading partners such as Brazil, Mexico and the US.

In 2021, plastics raw materials exports increased from US$840 million to US$1.4 billion, basic chemical substances from US$230 million to US$300 million, other chemicals such as fertilizers from US$370 million to US$440 million, soaps and detergents from US$550 million to US$618 million, and plastics products from US$480 million to US$624 million.

To what extent could the election of Gustavo Petro impact the country’s business climate for chemicals?

The new government took over on August 7, 2022, so it is early to say what the outcomes will be. There are currently discussions about a tax reform, as the government, from their analysis, requires approximately 25 trillion Colombian Pesos – approximately US$6 billion dollars. This is an extremely large amount and will impact many businesses, depending on how the tax reform is rolled out.

The climate for investment is concerning, as companies are holding off on capital expenditure to expand capacity or product portfolios before first seeing what happens with the new government and the tax reform.

What were the main themes of the ColombiaPlast conference?

We had a great commercial exhibition – machinery, molds, raw materials, services, equipment – with everything related to the plastics industries, including an area for 3D printing and one for startups in the recycling and circular economy sectors. Sustainability, the environment, and the advances of industry 4.0 were key themes.

In collaboration with APLA, we organized a sustainability-focused event for the chemical and plastics sectors, focusing on how we can develop the recycling markets to transition into an integrated circular economy.

How is Acoplásticos working to stimulate a circular economy?

In June 2022, Colombian Congress passed the single-use plastics act to provide a framework in terms of new materials, for products such as straws and plastic bags, and promote more sustainable reusable plastic products. For packaging – a big portion of plastic waste – we have specific goals within the extended producer responsibility framework.

Acoplásticos is focused on five aspects in our efforts to promote sustainability and a circular economy. Firstly, we want to promote eco design, which leads to better characteristics in terms of recyclability of products. Secondly, we focus on consumer awareness – communications campaigns, school programs, and clean-up initiatives to generate greater awareness. The third revolves around regulation, especially in a waste management system that is currently based on landfills, but must transition to a system based on recycling. The fourth pillar is creating dynamic recycling markets – working closely with entrepreneurs and companies, promoting investments, businesses, crowd funding initiatives with the Colombian stock market, financing rounds, and networking within the sector to promote the use of recycled materials. Lastly, one of the key issues we have in Latin America is a lack of information about the recycling markets as they are usually informal. We do studies on how prices evolve, supply and demand, key players in the market, and how the sector is growing, and then publish all this information.

Next:

Interview: Chilean Chemical Industry Association (ASIQUIM)