Swiss foreign trade booms in the first quarter
Swiss imports and exports reached new heights in the first quarter, driven by the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors. Shipments to the United States rose sharply.
Between January and the end of March, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 3.6% in nominal terms (not adjusted for inflation) over a quarter, passing the CHF74 billion mark for the first time, the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) said in a press release on Thursday.
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“The upward trend that began in the second quarter of 2024 has thus been confirmed, leading to a new all-time peak in outflows”, the FOCBS noted.
Over the same period, imports rose by 5.9% to a record 60.5 billion. On the input side, too, the positive trend observed since the second quarter of 2024 continued, “albeit at a slower pace”. The trade surplus stood at CHF13.6 billion.
With the exception of vehicles, all the groups of goods exported recorded an increase in the first quarter, albeit at different rates. With a rise of CHF2.3 billion, chemical and pharmaceutical products made the biggest contribution – based solely on the price effect – to export growth.
Exports to North America saw the strongest growth, up 16.6%, and 17.4% to the United States. In terms of imports, all twelve commodity groups were up on the previous quarter, contributing to a record result of CHF2.5 billion (+12.6%). Imports of chemical and pharmaceutical products were also “by far the most dynamic”.
Adapted from French by DeepL/ac
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