Switzerland: Organic food share rises above ten percent

The Swiss spent 3.24 billion francs, or 3.07 billion euros on organic food in 2019, so the organic food sales achieved a 10.3 percent share of the total food market. These and many other figures were presented by the Swiss association ‘Bio Suisse’.

The bulk of the Swiss organic food sales was shared between the two largest food chains in the country; Coop with 1.428 billion francs and Migros with 1.047 billion. The specialist organic retailers had a turnover of over 303 million francs, so a share of around ten percent of organic sales. The largest organic sales segments were Eggs, fresh bread, vegetables and fruit. Meat, frozen goods, drinks and snacks were well under 10 percent. While milk and dairy products are in high demand in Germany, their sales in Switzerland stagnated last year.

At the end of 2019, there were 7,465 organic farms registered in Switzerland. Of these 6,962 farms, or 93 percent, were managed according to ‘Bio Suisse’ standards. This is 243 more farms than in 2018. A total of 15.3% of all farmers in Switzerland worked organically and cultivated 170,000 hectares of land, about one sixth of the agricultural land.

Most organic food in Switzerland is labelled with ‘Bio Suisse's’ bud logo. Their production often requires organic products from abroad, which must be certified according to ‘Bio Suisse’ standards. Over 2,300 farms and producer groups worldwide meet this standard and supply Switzerland with mainly cereals, sugar beet and animal feed. Fruit and vegetables follow in fourth and fifth place.