Market study Spain’s plastics industry reaches 29 billion euro turnover

Related Vendors

Fira de Barcelona

Jongen Werkzeugtechnik GmbH

AMPCO METAL Deutschland GbmH

Renishaw plc

Spain’s plastics industry is growing despite regulatory pressure, rising raw material costs and tougher global competition. According to the Equiplast 2026 Study, the sector now generates almost 29 billion euros in turnover and is strengthening its role in recycling, machinery and transformation as circular economy requirements reshape the market.

The plastics industry in Spain consolidates its weight as a strategic pillar of the economy. According to the Equiplast 2026 Study, presented at the Fira de Barcelona trade show, the sector has a turnover of close to 29 billion euros, which is equivalent to two percent of national GDP and 5.22 percent of industrial production. Between 2021 and 2024, it has registered a growth of 18 percent, demonstrating its ability to adapt in the midst of the transition to circular economy models.

The business fabric is made up of 3,633 companies, mostly concentrated in the Mediterranean arc. Catalonia and the Valencian Community account for nearly half of the activity in a sector that employs more than 107,000 people.

The main driver of this industry is the transformer subsector, which brings together 3,259 companies and generates 93 percent of the total business (26,815 million euros). Its activity is based on tractor markets such as packaging, automotive and construction, the latter with a significant growth of 39 percent in the last three years in the use of plastic.

The recycling sector, on the other hand, has 184 companies and a turnover of 1,454 million euros. Although Spain occupies a prominent position in installed capacity, this segment operates at only 69 percent of its potential due to the pressure of low-cost virgin plastic imports.

As for the machinery, moulds and equipment segment, made up of 190 companies, it reaches a turnover of 622 million euros and has a marked export vocation. With high technological intensity, it has consolidated markets such as Mexico, India and the United States as main destinations.

Regulatory pressure and global uncertainty

The plastics industry is going through a complex period marked by intense regulatory pressure. Of particular note is the Spanish tax on non-reusable plastic packaging and the new European Packaging and Waste Regulation (PPWR), which require the transformation of the eco-design of products and increase the administrative burden.

Added to this is the geopolitical instability resulting from the conflicts in the Middle East, which has raised the price of raw materials by more than 30 percent and intensified competition from imports from countries such as China and Turkey, whose sales in Spain have increased by up to 150 percent in the last decade.

These tensions raise production costs, generate shortages of critical supplies and make it difficult to finance operations, with a direct impact on the profitability of a sector with already tight margins.

Spain leader in recycling

The report places Spain as one of the European benchmarks, especially in recycling. The country concentrates 15 percent of the total capacity of the European Union (2.0 million tonnes), only behind Germany (19 percent) and ahead of Italy (12 percent), the United Kingdom (10 percent) and France (9 percent).

Compared to the plant closures recorded in other countries due to the profitability crisis, Spanish industry is showing greater resilience. However, raw material production in Europe remains practically stagnant (0.4 percent growth compared to 4.1 percent globally), reducing its weight to 12 percent worldwide.

Although Europe maintains a competitive advantage in technology and capital goods, the study points to the need to ensure a level playing field against imports from third countries.

In this sense, looking to the future, the adoption of technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics or digital twins will be key to improving efficiency, optimising processes and accelerating adaptation to new materials, while consolidating recycling as a strategic industrial infrastructure for supply sovereignty.

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