Credit Management April 2024 issue

CREDIT MANAGEMENT
accounting for 1549 km of that number. And as
of 2020, the railway network covered 5317 km
with 1672 stations and stops. There are three
national airports in Zurich, Geneva and Basel
along with 11 regional airports.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the main primary sector activity,
generating revenues of CHF 12bn in 2022
($10.95bn Statista). Half of this revenue is
generated from livestock farming, primarily
dairy and beef production, while crop
farming (arable farming, fodder production,
fruit growing, viticulture and horticulture)
accounts for just over a third. The vast majority
of agricultural produce is destined for the
domestic market, although the food industry
exports certain products such as milk, cereals,
and sugar indirectly in the form of cheese,
baked goods or beverages.
At the time of writing £1 bought CHF 1.12.
With a heritage based on developing machines
to avoid relying on others, Switzerland now
has some 1,900 companies operating in the
machinery sector such as ABB, Liebherr and
Schindler, followed by Georg Fischer, Bucher,
Sulzer and Bühler.
Tourism
Considering its many lakes, forests, mountains
and abundant clean air, it’s not very
surprising that Switzerland’s tourism sector
is important. The Government reckons that
around 25m tourists on average make 55m
overnight stays per year. In 2023, tourism
generated almost CHF 18.6bn in revenue
(Trading Economics).
The sector employs more than 170,000, albeit
a good number are part-time or seasonal.
Like other nations, the sector was battered
during the pandemic but has recovered to prepandemic
levels.
The most visited parts of the country are the
Zurich area, Bernese Oberland, Lake Lucerne
and Geneva. However, Swiss tourists mainly
visit the canton of Graubünden, Ticino, the
Zurich area and Valais.
Commodities trading
According to Publiceye.ch, Switzerland is the
world’s biggest commodities trading hub with
a global market share that is estimated at 35
percent for oil, 60 percent for metals, 50 percent
for cereals and 40 percent for sugar. Key firms
are commodities traders such as Vitol, Trafigura,
Gunvor, Mercuria or Glencore.
Overall, there are around 48,000 farms with
an average 22 hectares of land each. Organic
farming is large and involves one in six farms.
The sector employs some 160,000 workers.
However, the sector has shrunk from 80,000
farms and 200,000 workers seen in 1996. The
Government has incentivised the move from
intensive farming to extensive.
Heavy industry
The machinery, electrical engineering and
metals industry is the country’s largest
industrial employer, employing over 300,000.
Many of the 10,000 businesses in this sector
are SMEs and employ fewer than 250 workers.
The sector is Switzerland's second largest
exporter and is worth around CHF 70bn (Swiss
Government) – Statista reckons it’ll be worth
$118.7bn in 2028.
It should be said that most commodities
never reach Switzerland, but are bought and
sold beforehand by Swiss-based companies of
which there are 900 that employ 10,000 people.
Most are located in the regions of Geneva, Zug
and Lugano.
It appears that Switzerland's appeal as a
commodities trading hub is a result of its
political and economic stability, skilled
workforce and well-integrated financial system.
The sector has grown from CHF 2bn in 2002 to
over CHF 80bn in 2022 (Swiss Government),
or CHF 58.5 according to Publiceye.ch.
Chemicals and
pharmaceuticals
This sector generates approximately 7 percent
of Switzerland's GDP with over CHF 100bn
in chemical and pharmaceutical products
exported annually (Swiss Government). The
industry employs over 75,000 and invests over
CHF 23bn in research and development.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / April 2024 / PAGE 37 continues on page 38 >