This is the 7th in a series of market reports by the nova Institute. These show the macroeconomic impacts generated by the bioeconomy, such as turnover and employment since 2014. The first report was commissioned by the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) in 2016.
The new report shows that the turnover of the entire bioeconomy is €2.35 trillion by 2021. That includes food and beverages and the primary agriculture and forestry sectors. It represents a decrease from the 2019 figure of just over €2.4 trillion.
More than 16 million people were employed in Europe’s bioeconomy in 2021, up from more than 17 million in 2019.
Europe’s biobased industries accounted for €725 billion of the €2.35 trillion
turnover of the bioeconomy in 2021 – a share of more than 31%. However, this is also down from €814 billion in 2019.
The report reveals possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that can be attributed to certain trends in the latest data. One example can be seen in the biobased pharmaceutical industry, which saw growth of more than €45 billion to a total turnover of €158 billion in 2020. This is up from €110 billion in 2019, but the figure drops to €134 billion in 2021. The drastic increases in 2020 and 2021 may be related to the development and production of vaccines for COVID-19.
The bioeconomy has been identified by the European Commission as a key sector for achieving the EU’s sustainability and climate goals. The bioeconomy is an integral part of the EU Green Deal.
Moreover, the EU’s dedicated Bioeconomy Strategy focuses on developing a sustainable and circular bioeconomy to address societal challenges and increase the competitiveness of bio-based industries.
The full report is available on the BIC website.
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