Foreign trade recovers in 2010
After a sharp decline in 2009, Swiss foreign trade bounced back last year, with exports growing by seven per cent and imports by eight per cent.
Despite this, both import and export figures were still SFr13 billion ($13.8 billion) off their record level of 2008. Furthermore, exporters were forced to drop their prices due to the strong Swiss currency.
Total exports rose to SFr193.3 billion, with eight out of ten leading export sectors seeing their revenues increase. The biggest recovery was seen in the watch and the metal industries, both of which were able to step up their export volumes by a fifth.
Imports increased to SFr173.7 billion, a level that was also significantly off their 2008 peak. The prices of imported goods were virtually unchanged from the previous year.
After repeatedly surging to new records in previous years, the trade surplus actually declined in 2010 for the first time since 2005 by 3.8 per cent (SFr780 million).
Nevertheless, the figure of SFr19.6 billion was still the second-highest surplus in historical terms. The reduction in the trade surplus was mainly attributable to the steep increase in the trading deficit with the European Union (specifically Germany and Ireland).
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