Import duties and subsidies – Why vegetables are so expensive in Switzerland – News

The sometimes very high tariffs on vegetables protect domestic production, but put a strain on low-income households. That’s the finding of a new study. The protection is justified, says the industry, because the costs of local vegetable producers are much higher than abroad.

In this country, the summer months not only mean vacation time, but also harvest time for many types of vegetables. This applies, for example, to cherry tomatoes, which are harvested from May to October.

During this period, cherry tomatoes from foreign production are subject to horrendously high tariffs. According to a new study by the University of St. Gallen, the maximum is CHF 731 per 100 kilos of tomatoes. For comparison: Outside the local harvest season, the customs duties are still 5 francs per 100 kilos.

Households with lower incomes are losing

Although the high import duties secure sales for local vegetable gardeners, they reduce supply and artificially drive up prices for cherry tomatoes. This in turn is at the expense of consumers with lower incomes, who have to spend significantly more on cherry tomatoes.

The high tariffs and the many subsidies show that Swiss agriculture is actually not competitive.

Stefan Legge, economist and co-author of the new study, says: “A household with four people spends around 600 francs a month on groceries. If a whole range of products – we only took a closer look at fruit and vegetables – become significantly more expensive at certain times, then we quickly end up with a few hundred francs, which it costs a normal household more per year”.

Swiss agriculture not competitive

However, not all vegetables are subject to such strong price fluctuations as cherry tomatoes. In the case of carrots, the changes are hardly noticeable. However, because they can be harvested practically all year round in Switzerland, carrots are permanently subject to a very high duty. This means that the import of foreign products is also artificially prevented.

Ultimately, the various agricultural tariffs would weaken the competitiveness of Swiss agriculture, says Stefan Legge: “The high tariffs and not least the many subsidies – Switzerland is one of the OECD countries with the highest subsidies to the agricultural sector – show that Swiss agriculture actually not competitive.”

Wrong comparison between apples and pears

Manfred Wolf, organic vegetable gardener from the Bernese town of Kerzers, doesn’t think much of such studies. Once again, apples are compared with pears and not apples with apples, he says: “You compare the prices one-to-one with other countries and ignore the ecological requirements and the cost structure under which you produce here in Switzerland.”

One hides under which ecological conditions and under which cost structure one produces here in Switzerland.

In addition, about 6 percent of an average monthly wage is spent on groceries. When he started as an apprentice in the industry 30 years ago, it was still 11 percent, i.e. almost twice as much. These are the “right” numbers that need to be discussed.

Tariff protectionism comes at a price

The temporarily very high agricultural tariffs are obviously politically desirable: Swiss agriculture and the sale of its products should be protected and secured from foreign competition.

But this type of protectionism does not come free of charge: the price is paid in particular by those consumers whose budgets are already tight.