How the federal government uses taxpayer money to keep the sugar factories running: millions for the sweet gold

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Just follow your nose. Those looking for the sugar factory in Aarberg BE just have to follow the slightly sweet, earthy scent that descended like mist over the village of Zealand on this early autumn morning.

Or you follow all the tractors and trucks on the road that drive to the factory site from morning to evening. During the so-called campaign, the beet harvest period between October and December, thousands of tons of beets are washed, chopped, cooked in huge steel tanks and processed into granulated sugar every day. The two factories in Aarberg and Frauenfeld produce 220,000 tons of sweet raw material per year. It is processed into chocolate, cookies, energy drinks or directly in the store in cube form or in a paper bag.

35 million francs for sugar

It takes about eight beets to make one kilo of sugar. The second ingredient is not listed on the packaging: tax money. The federal government pumps millions into the sugar industry every year. The money does not flow to Schweizer Zucker AG, which runs the factories, but to the farmers. A beet grower receives 2,100 francs per hectare of sugar beet annually, three times more than for potatoes or corn. With the current 16,500 hectares of beet fields, this amounts to around 35 million francs per year. There are also other direct payments, for example if a farmer voluntarily limits the use of pesticides.

The sugar subsidies are controversial. No other crop is more strongly supported by the state than white, sweet beets. And for no other culture is the amount of direct payments and a minimum price for imports even set in law – meaning the federal government cannot reduce them without parliamentary approval.

Given these circumstances, the sector is trying to convince new beet farmers with the promise of ‘formidable profits’. Thanks to the high direct payments, “every sugar beet delivered is money earned”. In a promotional video, a farmer says: “Dear colleagues, don’t think twice. Sow sugar beets and you will be successful!”

Paradoxical politics

The Swiss sugar policy is paradoxical. It is not just subsidized sugar production that costs the state millions; the consequences of excessive sugar consumption are even more costly. According to the World Health Organization, an adult should consume no more than 50 grams per day on average; 25 grams would be better. In fact, we eat and drink an average of 100 grams per day. This has been proven to be harmful to health. our health.

The federal government is therefore campaigning, albeit timidly, for a reduction in sugar consumption. For example, Health Minister Alain Berset (51) has persuaded muesli and yoghurt manufacturers to commit to reducing the sugar content in their products.

On the other hand, the federal government even directly subsidized the sugar factories until 2009. And today the state still has a financial interest in the sugar factories: almost a quarter of the shares are owned by cantons and municipalities. For example, the Canton of Thurgau owns shares with a current value of approximately 1.3 million francs. Those involved therefore have no interest, at least financially, in significantly reducing sugar consumption.

State aid should be in the constitution

The beet farmers defend the high sugar subsidies. They were gradually increased. Most recently four years ago, limited to 2026. “We don’t just want to raise money. Our goal is a decent beet harvest,” says Martin Flury (45), chairman of the Swiss Beet Growers Association. After the federal government banned the insecticide Gaucho, which was also used in beet cultivation, several years ago, harvests collapsed. The development of new, resistant varieties continues, “but it will take a few more years.” Until then, higher direct payments are needed to bridge the gap. “There’s just no other way,” says Flury.

However, farmers and the sugar lobby are fighting in parliament to make the temporary arrangement permanent. Bern and Thurgau, the cantons where the sugar factories are located, want to actually enshrine state support for beet farmers in the constitution. In concrete terms, it should be noted that the level of self-sufficiency in Swiss sugar should be maintained at least at its current level. Today, around 320,000 tons of sugar are used annually in Switzerland, almost 70 percent of which comes from within the country. The Economic Commission of the Council of States has already spoken in favor of the constitutional article. The demand will still give rise to discussions in parliament.

“We need a sensible connection solution that creates long-term security,” says Guido Stäger (64), head of the Swiss sugar factories. The alternative to high direct payments and border protection, he counters, is higher sugar prices. And more imports from abroad, where sugar is produced less sustainably.

The sugar producer and the beet grower emphasize that it is not their goal that Switzerland will eat even more sugar. “We are also in favor of moderate sugar consumption,” says farmer Flury. At least as long as Swiss production is not endangered.

Source:Blick