Switzerland and cheese have been synonymous for generations; so, what happens if the modern Swiss dairy industry cannot overcome its current obstacles?

Switzerland will likely import more cheese than it exports says the dairy association Swissmilk, thanks to a change made in the Swiss dairy market about 30 years ago.

“For the first time, this year we will be importing more cheese than we export,” Swissmilk president Boris Beuret told local newspaper Le Temps. “This is the result of a liberalization process that began at the end of the 1990s and is more far-reaching than for cereals or meat.”

In 2007 Swiss cheese producers lost 12% of the domestic market share as a result.

The issue is compounded by the fact that dairy farms across the nation are closing their businesses twice as quickly as other agricultural producers, Beuret said. Moreover, the Swiss are eating more cheese than they have ever before – about 22.9 kilograms per person last year.

By 2023, the Swiss dairy industry has reached its limit, according to Beuret.

“If we want to meet the population’s food needs effectively, we need to continue producing milk throughout the country,” Beuret told Le Temps. “Otherwise, we’ll end up importing it, which would be an economic, social and ecological absurdity.”

According to Le Temps, Swiss grocers Coop and Migros are making high margins on dairy products. Beuret recommends Switzerland to take measures to ensure that the country’s world-famous cheese is protected.

“I’m convinced that consumers are ready to understand that we need to be properly remunerated if we are to continue in this direction [of sustainable production],” says Beuret.

In the last two years Swiss cheese producers have lost lawsuits in both Europe and the United States to prevent cheese producers from calling their products “Gruyère” and “Emmentaler” unless they are produced in the Swiss regions they are named for.

At this rate, the country will end up importing more cheese than exporting “which would be absurd economically, socially and ecologically,” Beuret said.

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