Over 90% domestic for all main categories. http://www.schweizerfleisch.ch/medium.php?id=255402

Certainly a protected market.

My mistake. I had my eyes on the sheep sector, and on previous decades.

BUT, I suggest you go shopping pork in the coming days, which will be reduced by up to 50% ! They apparently overdid their part.

Meat for long times was imported to a considerable extent from Argentina, and after about 1970 from Poland.

If Switzerland was a closed economy I would understand people's concerns, but with its geographical position where most people live close to an EU-jurisdriction normal market forces shouls apply.

In the end I do not blame the Coop and Migros of this world, because Swiss consumers have an alternative in many cases to just cross the border if they wish and buy much cheaper. I am sure their business is not going as well as it did a few years ago, hence they are screaming. They can either reduce prices to get more revenues (a new concept to them) or stick to their guns and see consumers leave. What it appears they are doing though is blaming their suppliers, which is nothing more than political manouvring.

I just bought a German car (company car), and they gave me a 20% discount on the list price because of the weak Euro. If every second car is now being imported from the EU and the Swiss dealers are not adjusting prices they will be in for a big problem.

I here am 30kms away from the next German town with shops, and the train costs me CHF 12.50, so that a purchase has to be of some size, to offset this. Particularily if I take the lost time into account. So much for "just cross the border".

But of course, it is NOT a closed economy, but an economy where specific agricultural sectors are protected by a rich variety of measures.

Add to this the high real estate costs, and the relatively small size of what CH-internally are regarded as "large companies", and then you see it

I would like to add my two cents' worth without carefully reading the whole thread (always a good move )

BUT in addition to what everyone mentioned so far, I thought that one of the main reasons prices for imported goods have not fallen is the vertical cartels, ie the fact that for many things in CH there is only one supplier who can therefore charge monopolistic prices

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2011...ss-cpi-basket/

Sorry if someone already mentioned this (and for the above article, yes, who shops in a petrol station, I know...)

Do you really, honestly believe that the high customs duty and low customs free limit on importing fresh beef, lamb and pork is not a form of protection?

Try and take that limit away, and I think the livestock farmers of Switzerland would make the point loud and clear that it certainly is.

Without import duty, the price of pork and beef would collapse, by well over 50% - taking those Swiss farmers who cannot compete out of business.

Good point about "vertical cartels"

Theoretically the adoption of the Cassis de Dijon principle here should address that.

Now an importer does not have to go through an expensive & time consuming process of having their goods "Swiss verified" so should make it much easier for new importers to start up.
Of course there are still the old exclusive "Sole Importer" arrangements to work through and there is very little incentive to change these. For example I am an exporter outside Switzerland selling at a high price to my Swiss "Sole Importer". What incentive is there for me to sell to a new Swiss importer who will doubtless expect me to sell at lower prices??

Well, we just got back from a lunchtime border run to Varese (not the closest place, but I wanted some lobsters and razor clams). Spent EUR 240, most stuff 1/2 or 1/3 the price of stuff here. Figure CHF 11 for gas (1.57/liter now)

Tom

It seems that some prices are falling.

Mercedes Benz lowers prices by 20%

so now gas prices shoot up immediately after the franc falls....free economy....yeah right....

http://www.20min.ch/finance/news/story/16420594

That is the USD pricing for you. I doubt if they would be as quick to drop prices.

Despite the increase fuel is still cheaper than in the UK. UK petrol is typically around £1.35/litre (Approx CHF1.82/litre). As Swiss prices are generally around double the UK prices that makes fuel very cheap in relative terms.

Another price cut (if you are outside Switzerland).

From their Facebook page

Nipped into Bally today to look and see what I might buy when the winter sale starts ..... was told that they are reducing all prics by 17% because of the exchange rate against the Euro - the company made this decsion and they were about to start re-labelling with the new price....wonder if the other stores will follow suit.

Alright, YES, the customs duties on agricultural products ARE protectionist measures. But, many of those who "would" be taken out of business, wil be taken out of business sooner or later anyway. Which means that the only realistic approach will be a gradual lowering of these systems.

And let's look at some details :
Outside the customs-contingents, there are no import-limitations for meat imported paying the full customs-duties. Depending on price-constatllations and the contingents for meat-imports quite heavy such imports are done (particularily in the field of specialities) .
-
http://www.foodaktuell.ch/editorial.php?id=1188
-----------------------------------------------------

Of course it's a protected market, and I see no reason why. We can easily keep our standards by forcing meat producers and food exporters in general to follow Swiss declaration standards. It's also not like there aren't any Bio-certified or animal friendly farms in the EU..
So, get rid of all these smelly pig farms in densely populated Switerland and abandon the thought that we can feed ourselves.

A) Why ? Because those 5% of the population have a clout of a minority of 30% in this country. And because many people are too fearful.
B) "We can feed ourselves". Those statistics recently presented by somebody on this forum, actually "official" statistics, to me are fishy. A few decades ago, it was common wisdom that half of the meat consumed came from abroad and suddenly, official statistics "show" that an overwhelming majority of all meat comes from domestic producers. Well, I have it with Winston Churchill, I only believe in statistics I forged myself

Recently the Beobachter (A respectable Swiss consumer magazine, see issue 28 October, page 22) investigated why imported products cost more here than in the EU.

Reasons for higher prices, transport +2%, buying costs +6%, selling costs +9%, various factors +2% (Total +19%)

Only minus one per cent was attributable to higher wages here! Sales tax differences MWSt -7%. (Total -8%)

Wage costs for employers are 1% lower here than in the EU, maybe due to lower pension and health insurance payments.

So it is higher profits rather than wages -1% which force the prices up, and these should only be a total of +11%. (19% minus 8%)

Interesting article, just read it now.
http://www.beobachter.ch/konsum/kauf...tlich-so-viel/

A few interesting passages roughly translated:

"prices should be lower, not higher in Switzerland compared to neighboring countries. Higher salaries are more than compensated by much higher labor productivity. We earn more, but on average work longer, more intensive hours, enjoy shorter breaks and are less often sick. Added to that are very low ancillary labour costs and VAT, which isn't even half the rate than in neighbouring countries. Especially in retailing the differences in productivity are considerable, in Switzerland it lies at 49.- per work hour, in Germany, Italy, France and Austria at just 39.- per hour. "

"But labour costs are generally overestimated as a part of retailing prices, they make up just 1/7th of the total price. (...) Even less relevant are property/rental fees, despite the 29% markup in CH. (...) There is not a single study that proves that Swiss goods are overall of better quality. (...) the prof also considers the higher service quality in retailing a myth. "

It also states that some of the price is in the fact that swiss stores are more dressed up than german stores, so the prices are very high. (The US has some beautiful supermarkets (as does germany) and the prices don't seem unaffected)

-"a lot of money is spent in saturating the market with stores everywhere, lots of marketing, and loyalty programs." I think this is a valid point because over the border, I really never see the concentration of grocery stores that they have here.

In my town, they have 2 normal sized coops, a very large migros and a Denner. We also have a coop pronto and a migrolino....population Horgen....ca. 20,000

I also know Aldi in Germany is notorious for spending little on promotion, none of the stores had loyalty points, and even the big grocery stores i go to dont take credit cards.