A large part of German industry won't be able to avoid production cuts if companies need to cut their natural gas consumption even further, Bloomberg reports.

So far, many companies have been able to maintain stable output while reducing gas consumption, but the scope for further savings is narrowing, according to the Ifo Institute's response.

41.4 percent of the industrial companies surveyed say that the only way for them to reduce their gas consumption is to reduce production volumes.

"The potential for further savings without a drop in production seems to be running out," said Karen Pittel, director of the Ifo Energy, Climate and Resource Center.

Nevertheless, according to the study, 75 percent of German companies that use fuel in their production processes were able to reduce consumption without reducing production.

Going forward, 12.3 percent of the manufacturing companies surveyed said they had to stop production completely to further reduce their use of gas. The situation is even more tense for producers of food and animal feed, printing companies and producers of metal products.