Swiss confectionery and long-life baked goods: exports boost recovery

According to the association Biscosuisse, import pressure remains high in the domestic market, however. Regulatory requirements put Switzerland at a disadvantage as a manufacturing nation.

Following the sharp decline of previous years, the volume of Swiss confectionery goods sold in 2022 (37,324 t) rose by 32.6% compared to the previous year. The export share rose from 82.0% to 85.6%. Exports to the USA in particular grew strongly. More imported goods were consumed in the domestic market last year: while the sales volume of Swiss products (5,359 t) increased by 5.6% compared to the previous year, the import volume also rose – by 13.6%. The import share rose to 81.8%, up from 76.7% prior to the pandemic (2019).

During the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, the total turnover of Swiss confectionery manufacturers fell by around a quarter. This slump was largely reversed in 2022 (CHF 357.4 m; + 28.0% compared to the previous year). However, sales in the sector remain 2.1% below pre-pandemic levels (2019).

Total sales volume of Swiss long-life baked goods in 2022 (44,706 t) fell by 1.5%, while the turnover of the sector (CHF 509.6 m) rose by 3.4%. The domestic market share of long-life baked goods is significantly higher than the export share. However, import pressure is also high here, amounting e.g. to 58.5% for biscuits in 2022. Imports of biscuits have increased by 11.8% since 2019. Domestic sales of Swiss long-life baked goods compared to 2021 recorded a slight decrease (- 2.1%) against a slight increase in value (+ 2.5%). Although the export business in the Swiss long-life baked goods segment has lessened in importance over the last decade and declined in 2020 due to the pandemic, the previous year’s positive trend continued in 2022 (volume: 8,723 t, + 1.0%; value: CHF 90.0 m, + 7.8%).