Swiss Trade Monitor - 12 - Trading with Africa

Switzerland's trade volume with the African continent amounts to around CHF 20 billion. Swiss exports account for CHF 4 billion and the most important products include pharmaceuticals, machines as well as watches. Swiss imports from Africa are dominated by precious metals, pearls, and mineral fuels. Lesser traded products include cars, articles of apparels and agricultural goods.

The largest African partners for Swiss exports are Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, and Algeria. On the import side, South Africa, Ghana, Burkina Faso as well as Mali are the most significant partners.

When considering a partner's GDP, trade volumes with Africa are not lower than with other regions. Low trade volumes with Africa can thus primarily be explained by Africa's low economic performance in an international comparison.

Gold imports from Africa have been steadily increasing in the last several years. Trade volumes follow the gold price closely, as is the case for most commodities.