German chemical industry fears shutdown for months without gas

Sun sets over the skyline and ECB in Frankfurt
A commuter train passes by the skyline with its financial district ahead of the European Central Bank's (ECB) governing council meeting later this week in Frankfurt, Germany, October 25, 2021. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

BERLIN, March 30 (Reuters) - Germany's VCI chemical industry association said on Wednesday if gas is rationed due to a Russian demand to pay for fuel with roubles, production facilities would have to shut down, possibly for months, causing a domino effect in other industries.

"These are large complexes that are inter-related in their material flows. You don't just switch them off and on again like a microwave. Once chemical plants are shut down, they stand still for weeks and months," VCI head Christian Kullmann told Reuters.

"If our plants stand still, a little later the assembly lines in the automotive industry, in mechanical engineering and in many other industries also stand still. There would be a huge domino effect through almost all industries - one after the other would topple."

Reporting by Matthias Inverardi, Writing by Emma Thomasson, Editing by Miranda Murray

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