German industrial production is expected to fall further behind this year, after a dip in 2023. The usually strong manufacturing sector had already taken a hit because of higher energy prices.

Industrial output from Europe’s largest economy is expected to fall further this year, the leader of the Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) said on Monday at the Hanover Messe — one of the world’s largest trade fairs.

Roughly two decades of outstanding economic success have been rooted in cheap Russian energy that became unavailable since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The head of the BDI, a major lobby for German manufacturers, recently accused German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of underestimating the seriousness of the situation after an already depressed output for 2023.