The chemical and pharmaceutical industry, with more than 473,000 employees, is particularly affected by the energy crisis in Germany, which was caused by Russia’s continued reduction of gas supplies to the country. According to the VCI, the sector is Germany’s largest consumer of gas, consuming 15% of all available natural gas in the country. The sector needs gas as an energy source and as a raw material for further processing of products such as plastics, medicines and fertilisers.
According to VCI chairman Christian Kullmann, chemical production will fall by as much as 8.5% this year alone. “Reducing production is a first step. If certain processes have to be shut down completely, they may never start again,” the chairman warned.
In the second quarter of the year, production in the German chemical and pharmaceutical industry decreased by 6.4% compared to the previous quarter. Turnover, on the other hand, grew by 3.4% to almost 65 billion euros, due to the sharp rise in prices of chemical products and pharmaceuticals.