Swiss fact: Switzerland is one of the world’s top 5 coffee exporters

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According to UN trade statistics, the small Alpine nation exported US$ 2.4 billion¹ of coffee in 2013. This figure is far higher than its cheese (US$ 615 million²) or chocolate (US$ 822 million³) exports, two far more famous Swiss exports.

In 2013, Swiss coffee exports ranked 4th behind Brazil ($5.3b), Germany ($3.4b) and Vietnam ($2.9b). Ethiopia, where the coffee plant originated, trailed back in 13th place with $771 million of exports. And Italy, the European nation where even ordinary eateries can produce a near perfect shot, ranked 7th, with exports of $1.4 billion. Switzerland and Germany were the only exporters in the top five that weren’t also among the top five coffee growing nations.

© Hpphoto | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge

So what is going on?

Viewed by weight the picture is different. In 2013, Switzerland processed only 131 million kgs⁴ of raw green coffee beans. Italy, which exported 42% less, processed 495 million kgs⁴ of raw beans, close to four times as much.

But, Switzerland’s end product is pricier, pushing up the value of what it exports. Food giant Nestlé has three factories in Switzerland churning out Nespresso capsules. Each of these contains 5-6 grams of coffee and sells for US$ 0.56 (CHF 0.57). Gram for gram the coffee in these capsules costs around 10 times as much as coffee from a typical bag of roasted beans.

In addition, Switzerland is smaller and consumes a lot less of what it makes, leaving more for export – there are 60 million Italians and only 8 million Swiss.

Switzerland’s oversized share of the coffee trade is relatively new. In 2005, Switzerland exported only US$130 million of coffee, eight years later it was US$ 2.4 billion. Over the same period Nespresso’s sales rose more than 5-fold. Other Swiss coffee capsule producers, such as the Ethical Coffee Company, have added further to pricey Swiss coffee capsule exports.

Since 2013, Swiss coffee exports have been stable. In 2015, Switzerland exported US$ 2.2 billon⁵, placing it 5th after the same nations above, plus Colombia.

US$2.2 billion. By George⁶ that’s a lot of coffee.

More on this:
¹UN Comtrade coffee export numbers 2013 – opens PDF (in English)
²UN Comtrade chocolate export numbers 2013 – opens PDF (in English)
³UN Comtrade cheese export numbers 2013 – opens PDF (in English)
⁴European Coffee Report 2013-14 – opens PDF (in English)
⁵UN Comtrade coffee export numbers 2015 – opens PDF (in English)
⁶Clooney

About Investec

Investec is a distinctive Specialist Bank and Asset Manager. We provide a diverse range of financial products and services to a niche client base in three principal markets, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia, as well as certain other geographies. Investec’s strategic goals are motivated by the desire to develop an efficient and integrated business on an international scale through the active pursuit of clearly established core competencies in the group’s principal business areas.

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