Too cold for ice cream?
The Swiss seem to be losing their taste for ice cream, according to a report published on Saturday.
During the first three quarters of 2001, which includes the peak summer season, consumption of ice cream in Switzerland fell by 4.7 per cent to 43.3 million litres, according to statistics released by the Association of Swiss Ice Cream Makers.
The association blamed the fall in sales partly on last summer’s weather. Periods of sunshine were too often interrupted by weeks of rainfall, the association said in its annual report into the state of the nation’s ice cream industry.
“The morose weather we had in September drew an early line under the summer season,” the association said in its communiqué.
Despite sluggish summer sales, the association expressed confidence in the long-term future of the domestic ice cream industry.
“Putting the influence of the weather to one side,” the statement read, “the market remains fairly stable.”
However, the arctic cold front which descended across central Europe on Friday and which continues to keep temperatures across Switzerland well below freezing is unlikely to give ice cream manufacturers much to cheer about.
swissinfo with agencies
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