Swiss chocolate industry: downward trend in domestic business halted last year

The associated economies of scale are also important within Switzerland. According to the association Chocosuisse, the growth in export business enabled increasing sales by 2.2% to almost CHF 1.79 bn.

Following the decline in domestic consumption and sales of Swiss chocolate in previous years, the downward trend halted last year. Domestic sales of Swiss chocolate rose by 0.8%, increasing the associated revenues by 1.2%. The proportion of imported chocolate in domestic consumption remained at 41%. Annual per capita consumption in Switzerland also remained virtually unchanged, at 10.4 kilograms. After declining in recent years, per capita consumption bottomed out in 2019. 

The export share of total production by Swiss chocolate manufacturers increased again and stood at 73.7% last year (2018: 72.5%). The sales volume achieved through exports increased by 5% to about 147,600 tonnes. Export sales rose by 3% and topped CHF 1 bn for the very first time. This growth was largely based on exports to countries outside the European Union. High growth rates were recorded in markets such as Canada, the US, China, the Middle East and Singapore. Nevertheless, the EU remains Switzerland’s most important sales market.