BERLIN, March 28 (Xinhua) — Sentiment among Germany’s export industry “slumped dramatically” due to the Ukraine crisis as the corresponding indicator of export expectations fell from 17.0 points in February to minus 2.3 points in March, the ifo Institute said on Monday.

The only stronger decline was recorded at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, when the indicator fell to minus 31.2 points, according to the ifo Institute.

“When considering the coming six months, companies were significantly more pessimistic, especially those with economic ties to Russia,” said ifo President Clemens Fuest. “The growth in exports will slow down noticeably.”

The German car manufacturers and their suppliers “suffered a significant setback,” expecting declining export volumes, according to the ifo Institute. The rubber and plastics industry as well as printing companies were also assuming lower exports.

The German electrical and electronics industry continued to “anticipate rising international sales, but to a lesser extent than recently,” the ifo Institute noted.

In February, German exports to third countries outside the European Union (EU) still increased by 12.3 percent year-on-year to 57.2 billion euros (62.9 billion U.S. dollars), according to preliminary data published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) last week. (1 euro = 1.10 U.S. dollars)

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