Comment

The Chemicals Economic Development Committee last month published its report “UK Chemicals 1975–85: Strategies and opportunities for the Industry” One of its main conclusions is that overseas sales are the key to a strong, fast growing UK chemicals industry, and that the control of inflation, the maintenance of appropriate exchange rate parities, and investment incentives are the critical factors in achieving this. However, it concludes that the amount of export sales for the paint industry over the next decade is likely to be very small, which in turn will restrict the overall growth of the industry to something less than two per cent per annum. Those companies in our industry who have enjoyed such a large upswing in overseas paints and inks sales over the past eighteen months may well disagree with this conclusion.