Swiss long-life baked goods manufacturers prevail in a challenging environment

According to the Swiss association Biscosuisse, in 2021 Swiss manufacturers produced 45,644 tonnes of products, representing 7% more long-life baked goods than in the previous year. The industry’s revenues increased by a total of 8.7% up to CHF 495.5 m.

While the volume of self-produced long-life baked goods sold on the domestic Swiss market increased by a total of 6.7% up to 36,766 tonnes, domestic revenues also rose by 7.9% up to CHF 409.7 m. The most important product category was biscuits, which accounted for more than 50% of total production. In 2021, Swiss biscuit manufacturers continued to be confronted by a high level of import pressure. In the preceding two years, i.e., since 2019, imports of biscuits from foreign producers rose by around 15%.

The export business compensated for the pandemic-related decline suffered in the previous year. But even after this recovery, a ten-year comparison revealed that export quantities in 2021 were around 40% lower than in 2011. Long-life baked goods export revenues for the 21 companies registered with Biscosuisse increased by 12.8% up to CHF 85.9 m, while export volume rose by 7.9% up to 8,878 tonnes.

The number of export destinations for Swiss biscuits increased again in 2021 and consisted of 75 countries, whereas in 2020 the number was 62 and in 2019 it was 70 countries. The top export countries in 2021 were again Germany (41.9 %), followed by France (16.0 %), the USA (7.2 %), and Saudi Arabia (6.0 %).

Along with the Corona pandemic, 2021 was also characterised by rising raw material costs for Swiss long-life baked goods manufacturers. The industry showed itself to be in stable form. Nevertheless, Biscosuisse estimates that the prices and availability of raw materials and packaging materials also represent “great challenges” in the current environment.