Only 40% of the sugar in a product must now come from Switzerland to qualify for the Swiss designation of origin after a poor year for sugar beet, as reported by the Swiss agricultural information service on Thursday.
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In principle, 80% of the raw materials in a product with the Swiss designation of origin must come from Switzerland, as stipulated by the so-called ‘Swissness rule’. However, this changes if there are insufficient raw materials available. If the country’s level of self-sufficiency is below 50%, the proportion of Swiss ingredients can also be half as high. According to the agricultural information service, this is now the case for sugar.
‘A year to forget’ for growers
Both the weather and a pest infestation resulted in a low sugar beet harvest in 2023. “Last year was a year to forget. It couldn’t have been worse,” Martin Flury, president of the Schweizerischen Verbandes der Zuckerrübenpflanzer, the Swiss Association of Sugar Beet Growers, was quoted as saying by the agricultural information service.
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The beet harvest was affected by rain in the autumn and the plant disease syndrome des basses richesses (SBR), which results in a low sugar content. According to the agricultural information service, it was detected for the first time in four samples in eastern Switzerland in 2023. Previously, it had only been found in western Switzerland.
In addition, the sugar beet weevil, a pest of North African origin, was discovered for the first time. The weevil loves heat and drought, explained Flury: “We hope that it doesn’t spread any further.”
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Andreas Blank, chairman of the board of directors of Swiss sugar manufacturer Schweizer Zucker AG, told agricultural information service that the aim was to increase the level of self-sufficiency again, as reducing the necessary proportion of Swiss sugar risks the industry becoming increasingly reliant on imported sugar.
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