21 November 2006

EC appoints Ernst & Young to research impact of globalisation on EU print

The European Commission has announced the appointment of Ernst & Young Lyon to carry out a €80,000 study into the competitiveness of the European printing industry in light of the competition from low-cost economies such as China and India. Intergraf, the European printing industry Federation, lobbied the EC to carry out the study after member federations raised concerns at the significant increases in imports from China. The objective of the study is “to identify the main challenges and technological developments that affect and will affect the printing sector and their impact on the competitiveness of the European printing industries.” One key area of study will be a comparison of the environmental standards of the EU and Chinese industries. Intergraf President Bob Hodgson commented, “this is a great opportunity to measure and promote the European printing industry’s environmental standards. We have the highest environmental standards in the world and it’s time that public and private sector customers took notice of this and integrated it into their buying strategies.” The report will build on the initial findings of Intergraf’s own report “China and the European Printing Industry”, published earlier this year. The Intergraf report found that imports to the EU from China had grown from €75m in 1995 to €454m in 2004; imports to the UK increased by 700% over the period. Michael Johnson, BPIF chief executive, commented, “The UK printing industry is a world leader in terms of its use of technology, innovative business models and its embrace of environmentally friendly working practices. We should not fear globalisation and this study will teach our members how they can compete in a globalised economy.”