Tag Archives: 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy

Brazil is the world’s second-largest producer of soy after the US. Keystone / Andre Penner Six of the world’s biggest commodity traders have committed to help some of their largest indirect suppliers source soy sustainably in Brazil’s vulnerable Cerrado region. On June 21, Viterra (formerly Glencore Agriculture), Bunge, ADM, Cargill, LDC and COFCO – as part of a joint partnership called the Soft Commodities ForumExternal link (SCF) – announced their intention to get...

Swiss supermarkets offer a wide choice of alternatives to animal-based milk © Keystone / Gaetan Bally Plant-based dairy products continue to gain in popularity in Switzerland, with sales of plant-based milk more than doubling since 2017. However, dairy substitutes still occupy a niche in the overall market. Last year dairy substitutes generated sales of CHF172 million ($175 million) in the retail trade, the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) said on...

Dreaming of being on holiday Keystone / John G. Mabanglo Almost every second flight from Zurich Airport has been delayed since the beginning of June, with travellers facing more delays this summer. Between June 1 and July 10 an average of 46% of aircraft took off from Zurich with a delay of more than 15 minutes, according to an analysis by the news agency AWP. On average, passengers had to wait around 40 minutes. Most delays were of an operational, technical or...

The spectre of a shortage of gas supplies in western Europe has dampened the economic outlook for Switzerland. Keystone/Stefan Sauer The BAK Economics market research institute has confirmed its forecast for the Swiss economy this year, but it is more pessimistic about 2023. The Basel-based institute said it expected growth of Switzerland’s gross domestic product of 2.5% in 2022, as the economy coped well with a series of challenges. However, the BAK experts have...

If running a fintech start-up isn’t hard enough, then try pivoting to healthtech in mid-stride. The transition from digital payments to Covid diagnostics has proven a bumpy ride for Achiko, resulting in its shares being suspended from trading on the Swiss stock exchange. SIX Group, which runs the stock exchange, was forced to act on June 28 when auditor Grant Thornton raised doubtsExternal link about whether the indebted Zurich-based company could be assumed a going...

Berset, who is known for his elegant dressing style, has had a pilot licence for private aircraft for more than ten years. © Ti-press The Swiss interior minister, Alain Berset, on a private flight in neighbouring France has been forced to land by the French air force. A ministry spokesman said Berset misinterpreted information from the French air traffic control tower prompting an intervention by the French air force last week. Berset was able to continue his flight...

Blossoming cooperative ideas: a common economy, consumer protection and equality of the sexes. Dora Hauth-Trachsler/Schweizersiches Sozialarchiv The word “cooperative” is everywhere in Swiss daily life. What’s often forgotten is that cooperatives were once at the forefront of a worldwide movement that advocated for consumer rights, affordable rents – and world peace. In his opening speech at the tenth international congress of the International Cooperative Alliance...

People wait to receive humanitarian aid in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on May 28, 2022. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Despite record public donations for Ukraine, four months since the start of the invasion by Russia, Swiss aid agencies have only been able to spend a small amount of the funds on humanitarian work. An investigationExternal link by the SonntagsZeitung newspaper published on July 10 has revealed that Swiss Solidarity, the Swiss Red...

France’s last-ditch bid to persaude Switzerland to buy its Rafale fighter jet looks to have failed. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. France offered Switzerland a financial sweetener, worth an estimated CHF3.5 billion, to buy its Rafale fighter jets rather than US F-35A aircraft, according to a secret document seen by Swiss public broadcaster SRF. The document sheds light on background negotiations as Switzerland seeks to replace its ageing...

The Swiss press has praised Foreign Minister Cassis for organising the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano earlier this week. © Keystone/Alessandro Della Valle Newspaper editors in Switzerland offered praise mixed with criticism on the two-day international conference in Lugano to support war-torn Ukraine with its reconstruction efforts. The Wednesday edition of the Tages-Anzeiger and other TA Media group papers said the meeting, which ended on Tuesday, was a step...