Swiss chocolate makers were left with a bittersweet taste in their mouths last year as a strong Swiss franc melted away the appetite for their products, the top industry body said Friday.
Switzerland’s 18 chocolate manufacturers, including such brands as Lindt, Frey and Faverger, sold 4,000 fewer tonnes last year than in 2011 as an “overvalued Swiss franc . . . made Swiss chocolate products more expensive abroad and made imported chocolate cheaper,” Chocosuisse said in a statement.
The chocolate makers saw their sales fall 2.2 percent in terms of quantity to 172,376 tonnes, while their turnover fell 3.4 percent to 1.6 billion francs ($1.8 billion), it said.
More than 60 percent of Swiss chocolates are exported, and foreign sales were hit especially hard, Chocosuisse said.
In terms of volume, exports fell 2.9 percent to 103,897 tonnes, while the strong franc and overall slowdown of the world economy further nibbled away at foreign sales in value terms, which fell 7.3 percent to 760 million francs.
Germany is the biggest foreign market for Swiss chocolate, accounting for 18.3 percent of the exports, followed by Britain at 13.8 percent and France at 9.2 percent.
Apart from Germany, Britain and Belgium, most of the sector’s European sales fell, the organisation said, adding though that Swiss chocolate had made great strides in places like Bahrain, China, India and Japan.
http://www.thelocal.ch/page/view/strong-franc-melts-swiss-chocolate-sales
Categories: Economics, Europe, Switzerland