Turmoil in cheese country: For the first time this year, Switzerland imported more cheese than it exports

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.