Pandemic leads to historic drop in Swiss foreign trade

Exports and imports declined by CHF40 billion ($45 billion) in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, setting foreign trade levels back by three years. According to the annual foreign trade statistics released on Thursday, Switzerland experienced a historic decline in both exports (-7.1% to CHF225.1 billion) and imports (-11.2% to CHF182.1 billion) in 2020. The second quarter saw trading activity plummet at an unprecedented pace. This was the biggest annual drop in trade since 2009, sending Switzerland back to 2017 levels. All export sectors were affected except for chemical and pharmaceutical products which saw a 1.6% increase in exports (CHF1.8 billion). Jewellery and watches accounted for 50% of the decline. Sales fell by a third (-4 billion) and a fifth (-4.7 billion) for the two sectors, respectively. In relative terms, shipments to Asia fell most (8.8%) but this varied across the region. While exports to Hong Kong and Japan decreased by a total of CHF3 billion, those to China...