is already having the shortest the state of the business on rob was in berlin. welcome to the program. germany's minister for economic affairs, robert hobbin, has warned that germany is preparing for a complete stop of russian gas deliveries. it comes on the eve of a deadline for germany to begin paying for russian gas in rubles something it's refusing to do. our back said that there are currently no supply bottlenecks, but he said germany was implementing step one of its 3 stage emergency plan. back also stressed that both private and industrial consumers needed to do more to limit their consumption in the coming months. on this i've been speaking to monica schnitzer from the german council of economic experts. i asked her if this was a sign the german government is genuinely concerned that russia could stop supplying its natural gas. i mean, this is a possibility that we definitely need to prepare

a fall that has raised in particularly after the onset of the wall. that such a situation might arise. and therefore this is exactly the step that the government needs to do. now we need to prepare because so we cannot control what's happening on the russian side. was the question is, if this is step one, step $2.00 and $3.00 could ultimately be coming. but should we expect steps 2 and 3 though the ramping off of the severity of this? this is really a politic a situation that is extremely difficult to predict on. so in the end, so we need to prepare. so that in the event of an increasing on crisis and in the event or phone shortage off supplies of a stop to supplies, we can deal with it. but at this point, it's really a political situation that is very hard to evaluate. perhaps this will spur

companies on households to start to prepare it, what sort of ways in which can companies factories and people prepare for what could be to come. so it's really important that everybody prepares and the best possible way for households. that would mean really think about how to reduce or energy consumption that can start so by reducing heat, it can go on by reducing driving, lowering the speed with it. sure, tribe sharing cars when you go to work, these kind of rush us are definitely possible at the level of the industry. also precautions should be taken and 2 ways to substitute for instance, gas far should be considered ways of energy saving. also by, for instance, using digital methods to control the energy or use or can have to lower the

consumption. so every step that helps to reduce energy consumption will be a way forward to prepare ourselves. if less is to come in. this comes at a time when german houses are already battling with rising inflation. your organization has just published its forecast for the german economy. should germans be preparing for a tough time where we are already experience a tough time that was due to the amik runway of free hats in winter that was due to the shortage of supply. and now with the rise of energy rises, things have been even more plague. so we have actually reduced our forecast. we expected to last year that this year would be a real uptake in the economy. now we think that the uptake will be only by 1.8 percent for cheap p. and this means our only towards the end of the year,

or we will actually be back to the level that we had free pandemic. so if anything was to come, so if that say we really have a stop in energy supplies from russia, then the situation will be even worse. ok, monica schnitzer from me. german council of economic experts. thank you very much for joining us on the, the we business at leisure. more on the state of the german economy coming up. but the specter of a sudden stop in gas supplies from russia has driven leaders across the u to search for the sources. kita, breaking its dependence on russian gas is likely to be liquefied natural gas from the united states. one region that sets to profit from yours pivots to ellen. gee, the iberian peninsula facilities like this one in barcelona, could play a key role in breaking europe's dependency on russian natural gas. there are some

of the oldest plans in the block for processing liquefied natural gas. and soon enough, they could be handling new supplies of l. n, g from the united states. as often as they found out that jointly the 6 plants in spain and 40 percent of the total capacity in continental europe, again and the dentist, that having this kind of infrastructure and a gas system adds flexibility and reinforces the supply compared with systems in other european countries them of which have a total dependency on physical infrastructure such as pipeline sophistic got one unit for the u. s. as an ounce. it will boost its l. n. g shipments to the e by 15000000000 cubic meters this year with further supply increases on the way it's a step in the right direction. but pivoting the use energy mixed to the west is a mammoth task. it's not going to be easy. that's for sure, and the you has a plan at the re power. you went to be important how we combine our efforts in the

sense of how each countries work together in relating to these new suppliers, for example. and that teamwork will be critical if the e was to reach its goal of completely phasing out russian gas deliveries by the end of the decade. rising gas prices are behind one of the biggest challenges facing japanese economy inflation. the german council of economic experts latest forecast includes a prediction that inflation will top 6 percent this year as more than double its previous estimate. the war and ukraine is making many goods, boss, gas and shoppers can't help, but notice the difference. no more. sunflower, oil, germans are panic, buying groceries as supplies of some products, dwindled due to the worn ukraine. raw materials are missing. supply chains are breaking down. hundreds of supermarket items are becoming more expensive. but sienna cleaner than i'm on a small pension, and you really have to wash and look at everything, no not which wears off i, where i used to just throw in the cart without even looking. now i have to look

because i feel in my wallet, lycos asap, after having holding groceries myself to be on his arm for the embassy class. i find it weird that people are starting to hoard food. although she leaves middle prices for essential input like fertilizer for farming are going up. farmer phillips kind of thing pays 4 times more for fertilizer than he did a year ago. many farmers can no longer afford it. harvests are set to be less productive. weed prices have already doubled its ones, all one pi prices right now, it's an nice moment, but if cost continues to skyrocket, then we also need to cover costs are to be near the same level as $1.00 or 2 years ago. votes was on be fine sleigh on the price of diesel has doubled to kind brings tractors and machines used $30000.00 leaders per year. energy prices are volatile, making them difficult to predict one wrong decision and farmers can be ruined. the only hide has got as early certainty as very high right now and making the right

decisions a challenge. it's when's the right time to sell when the right down to buy? you can easy miscalculation back on monday. not reactionary chicago leon kind brings neighbor yona shrugs. and ne hope also a farmer sees and other problem having cash doesn't help if you can't buy most essential products bertha off it, it's not as simple that for to lesson in particular difficulties. evelyn, who has in pre out of them, is having problems right now. lima, no fertilizer from ukraine and russia. the warehouses at the bicycle in dealer in mac to borg are almost empty. combo y'all's muted mare will be that one or 2 farmers will come away empty handed this year. last year. and so prices are likely to rise even further. but hoarding food is not necessary. this supermarket manager insists as gift vocally cannuck. there really is enough or we can supply every one of a hog should ask yourself when you're shopping, if you really need the sunflower oil now,

or if you still have enough. and if i need something as always one bottle is enough . if after we only compound the problem, if you'll start hoarding again, who's done the priced barrow will hit low income earners. the hardest vale have to be even more careful about what goes into the shopping cart and what does it away from europe. now i'm sure lanka has asked the international monetary fund for a bailout to help with its ballooning foreign debt is now running at around $51000000000.00. the country is unable to pay for medicine, food, and other basic necessities of its citizens are paying a heavy price. people waiting in queue that start before dawn. that's what citizens now expect when purchasing essentials like gas and cooking fuel. in this line for kerosene, many have stood for more than 5 hours on empty stomachs in the scorching sun. everyone is angry. nominate people are dying waiting. 3 people fainted in this very

que. they're motivated with frustration is mounting and on the streets it's palpable out of my in my family, everyone standing and cues across the city. one is waiting for diesel. one is waiting for gas. we can't even make t at home. sri lanka is facing its worst economic crisis in living memory. the result of a series of misfortunes and chronic mismanagement by its leaders. farmers faced a devastating drought in 2016. the implementation of a government policy banning and ported fertilizer compounded the issue. it was an attempt to make sure longer the 1st organic farming nation, but instead farmers left their fields and food prices skyrocketed. a few years later, terrorist bombings rocked the nation. travellers canceled reservations. the pandemic dried up any remaining tourism, which sri lanka heavily relies on to pay for its imports. i am expect to get to get

the look was and unfortunately the down able to convey need. because the people who created the crisis very much stealing charge of economic management. oh, so i think it's behaviorally impossible for them to abolish that. they have made a huge blunder and they had to reverse all of these ah, in good at economic policies. low fuel means power cuts, another burden for businesses trying to operate. meanwhile, schools have run out of paper and hospitals are suspending surgeries like the queues for basic goods. the problems here seem and less. now reminder of our top story, this. our germany has triggered an emergency plan to secure its gas supplies announcement from may. federal ministry of economics comes on the eve of a deadline to begin paying russia for its gas and rubles something that the german

government is refusing to muscle from. and the business team here embedded from all from us do have to our website d to we dot com slash business. you can also find us on the details in use youtube channel and on facebook as well with elf on there as the d, w. don't business into an ex ah ah, with ah,

many german pipelines and gas reserves are controlled by russian company gas. the corporation has so far operated freely within the german market. perhaps for too long. who is behind this opaque multinational which gas flows through which pipe? and does the company even pay taxes here made in germany in 90 minutes on d. w. to be your own health advocate. by turning into your own expert, we are your coach without any fiction and lots of facts. be active in a clever way with on d. w. o. d w's crime fighters are back africans,

most successful radio drama series continues this season. the stories focus on hate speech, color of prevention and sustainable charcoal production. all episodes are available online. and of course you can share and discuss on d, w, africa's facebook page and other social media platforms, crime fighters, tune in now. okay. ah

ah, ah, ah ah, this is dw news live from berlin. russia keeps up its attacks on ukraine, despite hopes for a reduction in military operations. the eastern region of damascus comes under heavy shelling as part of a possible shift in moscow's war aims. the kremlin says there's been no breakthrough at peace talks and that's scaling back. its forces isn't ac spark also coming up germany brace.