Exports of Swiss sweets grew for the fifth year in a row in 2007, while the domestic market remained stable, according to industry figures.

Around three-quarters of Swiss made confectionery goes abroad and in the last year exports rose by 13.7 per cent to 20,772 tonnes, the confectionery and biscuit manufacturers' association Biscosuisse reported.

In the past five years export turnover and volume of sales have risen by around 30 per cent.

Biscosuisse described the domestic market as "more or less saturated". Manufacturers sold about the same as last year, 7,880 tonnes, and turnover dropped by 0.7 per cent to SFr105.6 million ($97.2 million). The number of imported sweets rose by 3.7 per cent.

Switzerland's global confectionery turnover rose by 7.4 per cent compared with 2006, reaching SFr337 million and volume of sales went up by 9.6 per cent.

Boiled and soft sweets, chewing gum, marzipan and nougat had the biggest leaps in sales. The average Swiss consumed 3.3kg of sweets in 2007, according to Biscosuisse.

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