Swiss sugar confectionery manufacturing sector posts sharp falls in sales

According to the association Biscosuisse, total sales by volume fell by 4.9% to 34,961 tonnes, with sector-wide turnover falling disproportionately by 12.1% to CHF 321.0 m. The negative trend continued in the domestic business. Both sales volumes and turnover were significantly below the previous year’s result, with a decline of 9.5% to 5,664 tonnes and 9.9% to CHF 72.6 m respectively. Domestic sales since 2013 have fallen by almost 30%.

Compared to the previous year, imports decreased slightly by volume (- 0.6%) and in terms of value (- 0.5%). The import share of the Swiss sugar confectionery market remains at a very high level (78.3%), having increased by a further 2.1% compared to the previous year. Most (38.5%) of the significantly cheaper imported goods came from Germany. The decrease in domestic consumption was reflected in lower per capita consumption, down 3.4% to 3.03 kg.

Switzerland’s 13 sugar confectionery companies reporting to Biscosuisse also suffered setbacks in the export business. While sales by volume fell by 4.0% to 29,297 tonnes, turnover declined disproportionately by 12.7% to CHF 248.4 m. The export share of total production increased slightly to 83.8% (2019: 83.0%). In 2020, 87 countries were supplied with Swiss sugar confectionery. With an  share of 30.4% (volume), the USA continued to lead the rankings, followed by Germany (21.8%), France (9.8%) and Spain (7.5%).