German electronics lobby sees 2013 output up 1.5 percent

Germany's electronics industry expects production to rise 1.5 percent in 2013 after shrinking 2 percent this year amid the euro zone crisis.

Trade group ZVEI said on Wednesday the return to growth depended largely on politicians getting a grip on the euro zone debt crisis and Germany pushing through its planned shift to a greener energy mix.

Sales have fallen to 175 billion euros ($231 billion) this year on weak domestic sales, while exports rose 2 percent thanks to demand from eastern Europe, the United States and Asia, ZVEI said.

The electronics industry is Germany's second-largest employer after engineering with more than 848,000 workers.

Its members mainly comprise mid-sized companies and top names such as chipmaker Infineon and engineering group Siemens .

(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Dan Lalor)