VDMA figures indicate steady decline in Middle East machinery demand  

Frankfurt, Germany - With less than a month left to Arabplast 2019, German machinery trade association VDMA has released figures highlighting sales of German rubber & plastics machinery to the Middle East (Gulf Cooperation Council members).

According to the figures, sales to the region saw a significant decline in the year 2017, as demand in Saudi Arabia dampened.

Total sales to the GCC states, mainly Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and UAE, stood at just under €20m in the year 2017, 31% below the 2016 figure of €63m. The decline was mainly attributable to a 64% drop in sales to Saudi Arabia in 2017, which stood at €24m.

Historical figures released by VDMA show that sales to the GCC states have seen a steady decline since 2013 - at over €110m that year, total sales were almost double the levels of 2017.

Similarly, total world export of rubber & plastic to the region fell by 26.7% to €345m in 2017. The decline was mainly attributable to a 45% year-on-year drop in Saudi Arabia’s imports to €168m for the full year.

Despite the declining trend, figures for the first nine months of 2018 indicate a positive trend for the full year. The UAE led the machinery import table with €23m worth of transaction for the 9-month period, followed by Oman at €19.6m and Saudi Arabia at €17.8m.

Arabplast 2019 will be held 5-8 Jan 2019 in Dubai, the UAE.