Commodities sector almost as important for Switzerland as tourism
Keystone-SDA
The large commodity companies are regarded as the secret giants of the Swiss economy. Now, for the first time, data is available on the importance of the sector for the Swiss economy. It is almost as important as tourism.
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According to a press release issued by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Tuesday, companies active in commodities trading generated added value of CHF19.2 billion ($24.1 billion) in 2024. This corresponds to 2.3% of gross domestic product.
This may not sound like much. However, commodities trading is not far removed from tourism, for example, whose value added was recently estimated by the FSO at CHF23.8 billion.
However, commodities trading does not come close to the really big sectors. For example, the pharmaceutical association Interpharma recently put the value added of its sector at just under CHF75 billion.
+ Commodity trading in Switzerland, explained
A geographical analysis of the data shows a real concentration of raw materials trading in Geneva and Zug. According to the FSO, a large number of players are active in the two cantons, including several of the world’s largest traders.
The companies based in these two cantons generated 58.4% and 27% of the total value added. They are followed at a considerable distance by companies in Vaud (6.5%), Ticino (3.6%) and Zurich (2.3%).
The FSO compiled the figures for the first time on behalf of the government. A comparison with the previous year is therefore not yet possible.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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