Swiss are increasingly buying abroad

The quantities purchased in Switzerland in 2017 increased by 7.8% (fruit) and 2.1% (vegetables) compared to 2014. Although foreign purchases have grown faster than domestic purchases, they still account for less than 5% of total household purchases of fruits, vegetables and juices. This shows in an analysis of purchases of a representative sample of around 3,000 Swiss households participating in the Nielsen Consumer Panel. The annual growth rates of volumes and household expenditures are shown in the graph.

Steadily increasing purchases of foreign fruit
While fruit purchases abroad rose steadily from year to year in the period under review, vegetables and juices also had years in which purchasing volumes declined compared with the previous year. The largest increase was recorded for fruits and juices in 2015, in which volumes purchased abroad increased by 16% and 21% respectively, compared to the previous year. The strong appreciation of the franc at the beginning of 2015 may have provided incentives to buy foreign trade products. In the case of vegetables, however, foreign purchases declined somewhat during this period. Here, a considerable increase in purchasing volumes took place in the following year (+24%), followed by a decline of 9%.

The growth of household expenditure abroad is similar for vegetables. For fruits and juices, the highest growth rates were recorded between 2014 and 2015, while their product value recorded the strongest growth between 2016 and 2017. Due to higher fruit and juice expenses and lower volumes of vegetables, it is also the case that in 2017 the average prices of purchased products in all three segments increased compared to the previous year.

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Source: BLW