Switzerland sees significant increase in land used for organic vegetable production

Area under organic vegetables in Switzerland has increased significantly Keystone-SDA

Vegetable growing is becoming increasingly important in Switzerland – especially organic farming. This is shown by new figures from the Federal Statistical Office. Since 1996, the area devoted to organic vegetables in Switzerland has increased six-fold to 3,160 hectares.

A quarter of the Swiss vegetable area is now farmed organically, according to the publication Vegetables in Switzerland published on Tuesday by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

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Overall, the area of agricultural land used for vegetable cultivation in Switzerland has increased by 50% since 1996 to a total of 12,750 hectares. This corresponds to slightly more than the area of Lake Lucerne.

However, a FSO survey also shows that consumers don’t pay a lot of attention to organic produce when making purchasing decisions. In 2023, seasonality, regional or Swiss origin, and appearance were the most important factors when buying vegetables.

This was followed by price and environmentally friendly packaging. “The fact that the products are organically grown was the least important purchase criterion,” the publication states.

Stable vegetable consumption

Vegetable consumption in Switzerland has remained stable in recent years at around 100 kilograms per person per year. Fruit vegetables such as tomatoes, zucchinis, and melons are by far the most consumed vegetables. They are followed by root and tuber vegetables such as carrots, fennel and beetroot. Only then do salads follow.

The self-sufficiency rate for vegetables in Switzerland was 44% in 2023. This is compared to a self-sufficiency of 54% in Switzerland for all foodstuff. The production value of vegetables in Switzerland amounted to around CHF758 million ($831 million) in 2023 – around six% of the production value of agriculture as a whole.

Adapted from German by DeepL/jdp

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