Wednesday, March 27

The packaging regulations will mean the destruction of 26,000 jobs


Plastic containers a production plant. / CR

A study of the food and beverage industry puts the number of companies that will close at 2,400

The Packaging and Packaging Waste project, which establishes, among other measures, a 50% reduction in single-use plastic beverage bottles, as well as new reuse targets, may lead to the closure of 2,400 companies, representing 7, 1% of all firms in the sector.

This will also lead to the destruction of 26,500 jobs in the food and beverage sector as a whole, according to a study carried out by International Financial Analysts (Afi), which puts the costs for the industry of the new regulations at around 7,050 million euros. .

As explained by the leaders of the Spanish Federation of Food and Drink Industries (Fiab), the objectives provided for by law entail an increase in costs and unexpected investments for the sector. Thus, SMEs and companies located in rural areas will be the most affected.

The government text, currently being processed, represents, in the opinion of the sector, a “regulatory turn” with respect to the route marked out by the EU and in some aspects exceeds the community directives. Not in vain, the initiative would involve investments of 6,270 million euros in a decade to adapt to the new reuse objectives and face the 50% reduction of single-use plastic bottles for beverages in 2030. It is a “unaffordable investment” for some companies in the sector.

Of these 6,270 million euros in investments that Fiab is talking about, the impact is divided into 4,670 million associated with the new reuse objectives and 1,600 million euros linked to the 50% reduction in single-use plastic beverage bottles . To these data we must add the increase in the cost of extended production responsibility, derived from the new obligations of companies in material recycling and reuse, which represents 490 million euros. In addition, the plastic tax would amount to 300 million euros, as a result of the future waste law, which is also being processed.

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brake on recovery

«The measures included in the royal decree come at the worst time -with inflation skyrocketing and a slower rate of recovery-, they reduce the competitiveness of the industry and put a brake on the necessary economic recovery of the country. We call for dialogue with the sector to identify viable solutions and consensus”, argued Mauricio García de Quevedo, general director of Fiab.

According to the federation, the sector annually generates more than 24,000 million euros in added value and some 430,000 jobs. “With the draft royal decree, the industrial fabric and small businesses lose and the citizens lose,” he added.

García de Quevedo argued that the industry’s demands do not undermine the sector’s commitment to the environment. “The sector’s commitment to sustainability and the circular economy is firm and unanimous, but a just transition is required, as is being considered in other industries,” he argued.

Diego Vizcaíno, partner of Afi, stated that «the impact on GDP would be up to 1,560 million euros due to the Royal Decree, which would reach 1,640 million -6.3% of the total for the sector- if the effects derived from the Waste Law”.

The consequences of the draft of the decree on packaging -says the sector- would have a very significant negative impact on the so-called empty Spain. According to a recent study by Fiab and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), 17% of its population is associated with this industry -more than 830,000 people-, as well as 16.2% of its GDP.


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