Swiss Foreign Trade Picks Up Again in Q3

21. October 2020

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After the record decline in the second quarter, Swiss foreign trade showed a remarkable recovery in the third quarter of 2020. Exports rose seasonally adjusted by 6.5 percent and imports by 11.5 percent. Nevertheless, the results remained significantly below the previous highs in the second quarter of 2019. The trade balance closed with a surplus of 8.2 billion francs.

(Switzerland) – After the historic slump in the second quarter of 2020 (-11.6 percent or -6.6 billion francs), exports in the third quarter rose seasonally adjusted by 6.5 percent (real: +9.9 percent) to 53.6 billion francs. In terms of revenue, this corresponds to the quarterly level of three years ago. In the individual months, July and August 2020 showed an increase, while in September, exports decreased seasonally adjusted by 1.9 percent (real: -2.1 percent). For imports, after two negative previous quarters, there was a strong increase of 11.5 percent (real: +9.0 percent) in the third quarter of 2020. Imports grew to 45.4 billion francs but remained 7.2 billion francs below their previous record level. The trade balance recorded a surplus of 8.2 billion francs.

Exports to Asia and North America each increase by one-sixth

Seasonally adjusted foreign trade of Switzerland (nominal)

With the exception of chemical-pharmaceutical products (-4.0 percent or -1.2 billion francs), all sectors reported an increase. The areas particularly affected in the previous quarter, watches, as well as jewelry and precious goods, showed the strongest growth contributions in the third quarter of 2020 (+1.9 and +1.3 billion francs). Despite this significant recovery, foreign sales in both product groups remained noticeably below the level before “Corona”. Also noteworthy are precision instruments and machinery and electronics, whose exports were able to increase by 674 and 568 million francs within the quarter. Meanwhile, exports of pharmaceutical active ingredients and immunological products in the chemical-pharmaceutical sector fell by 586 and 559 million francs.

Switzerland was able to sell more goods in all three major economic regions. The highest increase was in shipments to Asia (+16.9 percent or +1.7 billion francs). Here, China, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates stood out, to which goods worth a total of 1.1 billion francs more were exported. China also recorded a new record value of 3.9 billion francs. Sales in North America expanded by 14.3 percent. Shipments to the USA increased by 1.2 billion to over 10 billion francs.

Exports to Europe rise again

Seasonally adjusted exports of significant product groups (nominal)

Exports to Europe increased by 7.4 percent compared to the previous quarter. Exports to Italy, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands rose sharply; the latter recorded a new quarterly high. The quartet showed additional exports amounting to over 1.8 billion francs. Meanwhile, exports to Germany and Spain slightly declined.

After a sharp decline: Imports from Germany grow by 1.4 billion francs

The increase in imports in the third quarter of 2020 (+4.7 billion francs) extended across the entire range of goods. The highest contribution came from the imports of vehicles, which were severely affected in the previous quarter; their demand grew by almost 2 billion francs (passenger cars: +1.1 billion francs). Imports of jewelry and precious goods (under other product groups) grew by 800 million to 1.5 billion francs. Nevertheless, the purchases here were still 60 percent below the level of the first quarter of 2020. Also noteworthy are the increased imports of chemical-pharmaceutical products (+430 million francs), machinery and electronics (+346 million francs), and metals (+268 million francs).

Read the full report from the Federal Customs Administration (EZV) here

https://www.ezv.admin.ch/ezv/de/home.html