Swiss butchers under pressure despite steady meat consumption

Chief butcher: industry under pressure despite steady meat consumption Keystone-SDA

According to the head of the Swiss Meat Association, pressure on butchers has increased despite constant meat consumption. Takeovers and mergers are a key reason, said Daniel Schnider.

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A lack of succession solutions in the event of retirement affects the meat industry just as much as other sectors of the economy. “Butchers rarely close because their business is not profitable,” said Schnider in an interview with CH Media published on Monday.

“Some 40 years ago, around 2,400 businesses were members of the Swiss Meat Association, today we are down to 900,” said the association’s head. The loss of butchers has recently slowed down. Although the association is losing members, the number of employees has remained constant at 24,000 due to takeovers and mergers.

However, demands have increased. A meat counter is no longer enough; party services are also needed, for example. “But you can’t produce cervelats at five in the morning and grill them at parties until late in the evening.”

+ The Swiss have to eat less meat by 2050. Here’s how.

There is a lack of staff, especially at peak times. The four peak seasons – Easter, Summer barbecues, game season and Christmas – are much busier today than they used to be, said Schnider. In addition, butchers now make up to 60%t of their sales on Fridays and Saturdays. Compared to the past, things are rather quiet during the week.

Demand for meat fell slightly last year. “However, we haven’t noticed this due to the growing population,” said Schnider. The total meat supply in 2023 amounted to 436,359 tons, 3.5% less than in 2022, according to the meat industry association Proviande in March. Sales of meat substitutes fell by 1.5% in 2023 after stagnating in the previous year, according to the Nielsen Institute.

Translated from German by DeepL/jdp

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