Chinese converters slow down

At a recent convention, the China Plastics Processing Industry Association (CPPIA) commented on industry indicators for the first half year of 2013.
Production of plastic manufactured goods rose by approximately 8% (up to 29.3 million tons, or 20-25% of world production), a similar pace to 2012, but decidedly slower than the +22% of 2011. In particular, exports have shown a certain weakness, having risen by less than two points.
According to the CCPIA, the reasons behind the industry's slowdown – which has primarily affected small companies and enterprises with lower added value production – are national overcapacity, the rising cost of labour and appreciation of the renmimbi. The Chinese association does not expect major changes in the second half year or whole year 2013.
Based on Istat data, in the first half of the current year, Italian exports of plastic and rubber machinery to China was 48 million euro, recording a 24% downturn compared to January-June 2012. The leading trade categories are: extruders (6.1 million euro), forming and modeling machinery (4.7 million), thermoforming machines (little more than 4).