Confectionery manufacturers raise export share

Demand for Swiss confectionery was up 32.6 percent in 2022, according to a press release from the association of the confectionery and bakery industry, Biscosuisse. This increase was attributable to an improvement in exports, in particular, with this share rising from 82 percent to 85.6 percent. The greatest growth was reported for North America. Conversely, Switzerland is consuming more imported products (up 13.6 percent). Biscosuisse calculates that the share of imports last year amounted to 81.8 percent, versus 76.7 percent prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

The overall sales volume for Swiss long-life baked goods declined by 1.5 percent in 2022, though total sales in the sector were up 3.4 percent. In this product group, the domestic market share exceeds exports. Pressure from imports is also high in this area, at 58.5 percent for biscuits in 2022, for example. Since 2019, biscuit imports have increased by 11.8 percent. Domestic sales of Swiss long-life baked goods have fallen by 2.1 percent versus 2021. While export trade in long-life baked goods had been in decline over the past decade, a growth trend returned in 2021 and was maintained last year with a rise of 1 percent.

After two consecutive financial years of decline, overall sales in the Swiss confectionery industry have largely recovered, though they remain 2.1 percent down on 2019.

Alongside a difficult market environment, confectionery is having to contend with “turbulence in procurement markets” and “food regulatory declaration requirements for a Swiss Finish”, as Biscosuisse explains. Agricultural customs and border protection is also driving prices for key ingredients upwards. Biscosuisse represents industrial manufacturers of long-life baked goods, bars, snacks, sweets, pastilles and other Swiss food products that are popular nationally and internationally. heg