Swiss confectioners: good results thanks to export business

In spite of a sales volume that dropped by 4.0% to 32,804 tonnes, turnover in the sector rose by 3.9% to CHF 353 m. Only soft sweets showed a growth in volume (+ 1.0 %). According to Biscosuisse, companies in the Swiss confectionery industry sold 6,864 tonnes on the domestic market in 2014, which is 11.8% down on the previous year. As a result the turnover generated dropped by 3.8% to CHF 98 m. In terms of volume, jelly sweets and gumdrops (+ 3.1%), soft sweets (+ 1.2%) and sugar-coated products (+ 1.0%) recorded an increase. On the other hand the sales volumes of hard sweets (- 25.6%) and other moulded sugar confectionery (- 11.2%) displayed a clear slump.

 

In export business, 25,940 tonnes of sugar confectionery were sold, which represents 1.6% less than the previous year. Nevertheless turnover increased by 7.2% to CHF 255 m. Germany (22.0 %), USA (20.9 %), France (11.4 %) and Italy (7.1 %) were the biggest export markets for Swiss sugar confectionery in 2014. Significant additional volumes were exported chiefly to the USA, France, Spain, United Arab Emirates and Italy. In the Middle East and the Far East various markets were further opened up. The export share of total production rose from 77.2 to 79.1% as a result of the decline in the domestic market.

 

 

Imports of confectionery rose by 3.4%. The market share of 28.5% in the previous year for the domestic producers dropped correspondingly, to 25.3%. Domestic sales of Swiss and imported confectionery decreased by 0.9%. From the domestic consumption of sugar confectionery an average per capita consumption of approx. 3.3 kg per year can be derived, which is equivalent to a decrease of 71 g compared to 2013. The proportion of sugar-free products dropped from 22.3 to 20.3 %.