Swiss Trade Monitor - 11 - Switzerland's Rise as a Global Coffee Capital

Despite lacking plantations, Switzerland is a leading global player in the coffee production and trade. It exports more than three billion Swiss Francs worth of coffee per year, making it the most important product of its agricultural exports.

International comparisons show that Switzerland is the second largest exporter of coffee in the world, by value. The difference in relative values of 26.8 USD/kg for coffee exports and 5.0 USD/kg for imports is substantial: Coffee experiences a remarkable value added to it during its processing in Switzerland.

Switzerland's most important coffee export partners include countries in Europe, such as France, Germany or Spain. More recently, however, a rapid expansion of exports to North America is visible in the data. Its most important import partners include Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and India.

The substantial growth of Switzerland's coffee export sector is most likely driven by Nespresso, a subsidiary of Néstle and the coffee producer famous for popularizing the capsule system.