الخميس, أكتوبر 19th 2023
After a setback in the spring, goods “made in Switzerland” found significantly more buyers abroad again in the third quarter. However, the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sector is virtually single-handedly responsible for the increase.
From July to September, exports of Swiss products increased by 1.9 percent to 66.11 billion Swiss francs, seasonally adjusted compared to the previous quarter, as the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCS) announced on Thursday. Adjusted for price changes, they rose by 0.8 percent.
In the previous quarter, exports from Switzerland (-3.4%) were still noticeably down. However, the current export increase stemmed almost exclusively from higher exports in the chemical-pharmaceutical products sector, the BAZG noted.
The sector, which contributes a good half of total exports, increased its exports by CHF 1.5 billion in the third quarter. Immunological products and active ingredients were particularly in demand, the BAZG said.
However, this was not the case for another important sector of the economy, the machinery, electrical and metal industry. Here, exports shrank by 1.0 percent, with the machinery category in particular showing an above-average decline. Metal exports even showed a quarterly decline for the fifth time in a row.
Demand for Swiss watches also fell by 1.3 percent. However, this was only the second decline in this sector in the last ten quarters, according to the statisticians.
No uniform picture emerges when looking at the most important sales regions. According to the BAZG, exports to Central and South America (+6.0%) increased significantly and those to Asia (+0.8%) slightly.
Meanwhile, sales to Europe faltered at -0.2%. Swiss exports to North America even fell by 1.3 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Imports increased by only 0.3 percent to 55.57 billion in the third quarter. In real terms – i.e. adjusted for price changes – imports actually fell by 0.6 percent.
As a result, the trade balance closed with a large surplus of 10.5 billion Swiss francs. This was the second-highest plus since the end of 2021.
Conspicuous among imports were imports of automobiles. These recorded a 3.1 percent increase in import value to 3.2 billion francs. In contrast, imports of energy sources fell by 8.6 percent; they recorded their fourth consecutive quarterly decline.
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