Business association highlights chemicals sector’s strong performance

Zurich - Switzerland’s chemical industry contributed to a 14.6% year-on-year increase in exports in 2024, with an export volume of CHF149.08 billion (€147.90 billion).

The country’s Scienceindustries business association’s foreign trade statistics report stated the industry helped account for more than 52% of total national exports last year.

This was despite a faltering economy, said Scienceindustries' director Stephan Mumenthaler.

“The chemical-pharmaceutical industry is largely responsible for the export record and is a central guarantor for Switzerland's economic stability,” he stated.

The European Union remains the largest export market for Scienceindustries members overall.

In 2024, the figure amounted to CHF79.1 billion (€83.78 billion), comprising around 53% of all Swiss chemical-pharmaceutical exports.

Country by country, however, the US remains the major destination for chemicals, pharmaceuticals and life science.

Its sales of CHF35.7 billion (€37.81 billion) in 2024 amounted to an 11.2% increase over figures for 2023.

Switzerland’s second biggest importer is Slovenia, which provided an export volume of CHF26.2 billion (€27.75 billion).

Germany ranked third with a volume of CHF16.6 billion (€17.58 billion).

All three countries also figured among the four leading import suppliers to the industry sectors, alongside Italy.

Slovenia accounted for CHF17.5 billion (€18.54 billion), followed by Germany at CHF13.6 billion (€14.40 billion), Italy at CHF9.3 billion (€9.85 billion) and the USA on CHF6.1 billion (€6.46 billion).

Europe dominated supplier sources also, comprising three quarters of Switzerland’s chemical-pharmaceutical product imports, said Scienceindustries.

“It is imperative that market access to the European single market be secured through the Bilateral Agreements III in order to guarantee access to our most important trade partner in the long term,” stated the organisation in its press release.

“The conclusion of negotiations on the further development of the bilateral agreements with the EU by the Federal Council represents a decisive step in this direction.”