In 2011, Brazil had the 6th largest chemical industry in the world, with net sales of US $157 billion, or 3.1% of world sales. At that time, there were 973 factories for chemical products for industrial use. They are concentrated in the Southeast Region, mainly in São Paulo. The chemical industry contributed 2.7% to Brazilian GDP in 2012 and established itself as the fourth largest sector in the manufacturing industry. Despite registering one of the largest sales in the sector in the world, the Brazilian chemical industry, in 2012 and 2013, saw a strong transfer of production abroad, with a drop in national industrial production and an increase in imports. One third of consumption in the country was served by imports. 448 products stopped being manufactured in Brazil between 1990 and 2012. This resulted in the stoppage of 1,710 production lines. In 1990, the share of imported products in Brazilian consumption was only 7%, in 2012 it was 30%. The main companies in the sector in Brazil are: Braskem, BASF, Bayer, among others. In 2018, the Brazilian chemical sector was the eighth largest in the world, accounting for 10% of the national industrial GDP and 2.5% of the total GDP. In 2020, imports will occupy 43% of the domestic demand for chemicals. Since 2008, the average use of capacity in the Brazilian chemical industry has been at a level considered low, ranging between 70 and 83%.