Successful 2013 for Swiss manufacturers of sugar confectionery

In 2013 the 14 industrial manufacturers of Swiss sugar confectionery were able to top the prior-year result in terms of quantity and value. With a sales volume that increased by 2,634 tonnes to 34,155 tonnes (+ 8.4 %), turnover across the industry successfully rose by 4.9 % to 340 million Swiss francs. Significant growth was achieved in soft sweets (+ 10.3 %), jelly sweets and gumdrops (+ 10.0 %) and hard sweets (+ 9.9 %). Sugar-free sweets saw sales rise by 6.8 % in terms of volume. On the domestic market, Swiss sugar confectionery companies sold a total of 7,782 tonnes of products in 2013, 9.5 % more than in the previous year. However, the turnover thus generated increased by 1.3 % to only a disproportionate 102 million Swiss francs. Sugar confectionery imports increased by only 0.4 %. Domestic manufacturers were able to increase their market share from 26.7 % to 28.5 %. Domestic sales of Swiss and imported sugar confectionery products increased by 3.1 % to 27,332 tonnes. At 26,373 tonnes, exports for 2013 showed sales volume growth of 8.0 %, resulting in increased turnover of 6.5 % to 238 million Swiss francs. The share of sugar-free exports dropped from 65.0 % to 62.1 %. Germany (22.9 %), the USA (19.9 %), France (11.2 %) and the Netherlands (7.7 %) remained the largest export markets for sugar confectionery products manufactured in Switzerland in 2013. In 2014 Swiss sugar confectionery manufacturers are hoping to build on the positive showing of 2013, maintain their market share in the highly saturated domestic market and continue to expand their exports.