German consumer electronics slowdown seen in 2009

BERLIN, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Germany's consumer electronics market, which is expected to show 2.5 percent growth this year, will be flat or worse in 2009, a senior official at the IFA electronics fair forecast on Wednesday.

"We will not achieve the growth rate of 2008 ... there will be no noteworthy growth in 2009, if any at all," Rainer Hecker, chairman of the GFU group that organises the IFA, told Reuters.

"But there will be sectors that will not be impacted such as makers of flat TVs, Blu-ray DVD players and digital reflex cameras," said Hecker, who is also chairman of German TV maker Loewe (LOEG.DE).

Germany is the largest market for flat-screen television sets in Europe. TV makers are hoping that consumers will come around to replacing the estimated 170 million old TV sets in western Europe with new ones in the coming years.

The German electronics and electronic parts association (ZVEI) estimates sales in cosumer electronics will reach 14.5 billion euros ($21.33 billion) this year.

Many companies count on the electronics fair in Berlin for their order intake as retailers shop for the upcoming holiday season.

For the first time this year the IFA fair also includes household appliances, a move the organisers said mirrors consumer trends.

Prices for so-called white goods will rise moderately next year, according to Rainer Zinkann, head of the home appliances division of ZVEI.

"Home appliance makers had to raise prices as higher steel and energy prices left them no choice," Zinkann said.

"We will see if producers can cover higher costs with increased prices. I assume they won't be able to. I assume we will have to work on efficiency," added Zinkann, who is also co-CEO of home appliance company Miele.

Miele had sales of 2.81 billion euros last year.

Zinkann said he thought makers of high-end appliances were well postioned to weather an economic downturn.

The market environment was difficult but he was not pessimistic because in uncertain times consumers tended to choose a more expensive appliance in the hopes it would last longer, Zinkann said.

The IFA electronics fair opens to the public on Aug. 29 and runs until Sept. 3. (Reporting by Nicola Leske and Jens Hack; Editing by David Cowell)