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Switzerland was able to import more cheese this year than it exported for the first time. Boris Beuret (46), the new head of the umbrella organization of Swiss dairy producers, said so in an interview with “Le Temps” over the weekend. Beuret blames this for the strong liberalization of the dairy sector that began in the late 1990s. Swiss cheese dairies can therefore no longer compete with cheap foreign goods.
Beuret’s statements caused confusion in the industry. When asked by Blick, Jacques Gygax (62), director of the Fromarte cheesemaker umbrella organization, says, “I don’t quite understand what you want to show.” “The numbers are very usual for the first half of the year.” Swiss cheese exports are especially high in autumn. Now it’s daring to make a guess.
Export volume falls, value added remains stable
Looking at the import and export volumes of the last three years confirms this. However, they also show that cheese exports have dropped significantly again since the record year 2021. The Swiss cheese business abroad appears to be on a trend turn. “Of course we are under pressure because of the strong Swiss franc,” says Gygax. Especially in the German market, the industry is currently experiencing difficulties.
However, export volume is only one side of the coin. The added value will remain high. “Ultimately, this is also the goal of liberalization,” says Gygax. “Cheap mass-produced goods are imported, quality cheese is exported.” If, for the first time, more cheese was imported by the end of the year than was actually imported, the Swiss industry would not have lost a penny.
While cheese producers are in good spirits, dairy farmers are much more critical of development. Because the point of contention remains the price of milk: the price increase is causing sales losses in cheese dairies. Therefore, they buy less milk. Farmers are forced to market their milk elsewhere. “This puts additional pressure on the already very low milk price,” says Werner Locher (70), a dairy cooperative from Bonstetten ZH to Blick. This is fatal for dairy farmers, who are often unable to even cover their own production costs.
Young people do not want to produce more milk
For Locher, the solution is clear: A new quota system is needed to prevent overproduction. If we had aligned ourselves with the demand, we wouldn’t have had any of these problems.” For Gygax, this demand is unrealistic. It requires closing the borders and thus withdrawing from bilateral agreements with the EU. But Locher does not see free trade in jeopardy, even with a milk quota: “There will always be a demand for Swiss milk,” he says with conviction.
“Young farmers no longer want to work in the dairy industry,” Locher says. Low earnings, long working hours – many young farmers are choosing instead to focus on arable farming or raising lactating cows. The number of dairy farms is declining twice as fast as other farms. This loss is still compensated today by the large production companies in the plains. However, if so many farmers continue to forego milk cartons, the problem of redundancy may even resolve itself.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
