Switzerland and the coffee trade
How Switzerland, a country without coffee farms, became a centre of the green coffee trade and a large exporter of roasted coffee and capsules, and why it keeps compulsory coffee stocks.
Contents
In brief
- Estimates of the share of world green coffee trade handled by Swiss-based companies range from about half to 70%; the Swiss government gave 55% in 2025.1,2,3,4
- In merchanting, a company in Switzerland buys goods abroad and sells them abroad. As a rule, the goods never enter Switzerland.2
- Coffee enters Switzerland mostly unroasted (93% of imports in 2019) and leaves mostly roasted (98% of export volume); 2019 exports were worth CHF 2.5 billion.6
- Importers pay a guarantee fund contribution of CHF 0.12 per kg of green coffee (since 1 January 2024). It finances compulsory stocks covering three months of demand.7,8,9,10
- A 2019 proposal to end compulsory coffee stocks was dropped. At the end of 2025, 20,180 t were stored; the target for the end of 2026 is 20,640 t.8,9,11
A trading centre without coffee farms#
Switzerland has no coffee plantations.4 In the International Coffee Organization (ICO) it is an importing member.1 Yet a large part of the world’s green coffee is bought and sold by companies based there. In 2025 the Swiss government estimated that 55% of worldwide green coffee trade takes place via Swiss-based trading companies.1 Other estimates range from at least half to 60–70%; the highest comes from a discussion paper that cites a news article.3,4 No source opened for this entry explains how the share was measured (see Contested).
A 2013 report to the Federal Council names Geneva and Zug, and also Lugano, as centres of commodity trading.2 For coffee it cites trade-association figures: about half of the global coffee trade passes through the Lake Geneva region, and another 10% through Winterthur.2 According to a Dutch government market study (2022), the world’s largest green coffee importers all have trading offices in Switzerland.5
The tradition is old. Commodity merchanting in Switzerland goes back to the 18th century.2 Some early trading houses, such as Volkart Brothers, had become holding companies by 2013.2 Switzerland has been a member of the ICO since 1964.1
Paper trade and physical trade#
Most of this trade never touches Swiss soil. The Federal Council report defines merchanting: a company in Switzerland buys goods from a supplier abroad and sells them to a buyer abroad.2 As a rule, the goods do not cross the border into Switzerland, so no Swiss customs duty applies.2
A trading house in Geneva can therefore buy a lot from an exporter at origin and sell it to a roaster in another country. A lot is a batch of coffee from one origin and process, traded as a unit. The contracts, payments and price risk run through Switzerland; the ship sails from the origin port to the buyer’s port. How such contracts are written is explained in Green coffee contracts and Incoterms for coffee.
Coffee for Swiss roasters is a separate, physical flow. It mainly enters the country on the Rhine, through the port of Basel.5 In 2021, 99% of Swiss green coffee imports came directly from producing countries.5
Green coffee in, roasted coffee out#
Swiss customs statistics show a clear pattern. In 2019, 93% of the coffee imported was unroasted (basis not stated), while 98% of the coffee exported by volume was roasted.6 Switzerland imported 187,591 t of coffee worth CHF 745 million that year and exported 83,819 t worth CHF 2,492 million.6
Exports grew fast. In 2006 Switzerland exported 12,747 t of coffee worth CHF 202 million.6 By 2019 the export value had reached CHF 2.5 billion, a record at the time.6 In 2019 one kilo of exported coffee had an average customs value of CHF 29.70, one kilo imported CHF 4.00.6
Data table
| CHF per kg (customs value ÷ volume) | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Imports 2019 (93% unroasted) | 4.00 | 6 |
| Exports 2006 (our arithmetic) | ≈15.85 | 6 |
| Exports 2019 (98% roasted by volume) | 29.70 | 6 |
According to the Dutch government market study, the high value of Swiss roasted coffee exports is strongly related to single-serve Nespresso capsules.5 A 2024 university discussion paper attributes the growth of Swiss coffee exports most likely to Nespresso.4 No official statistic opened for this entry separates capsules from other roasted coffee.
Part of the imports is drunk in Switzerland. Per capita coffee consumption was about 7.9 kg in 2020.5 Domestic consumption in 2021 was about 64,000 t of green coffee.5
Compulsory coffee stocks#
Switzerland keeps emergency stocks of goods the Federal Council considers vital, to bridge serious shortages.9 Coffee is one of them, together with sugar and edible oils.9 Companies that import a minimum quantity must hold part of these stocks.9 By a decision of the Federal Council, coffee stocks must cover three months of demand.9
The stocks are paid for by a levy on imports.8,10 As of October 2026, importers pay a guarantee fund contribution of CHF 0.12 per kg of green coffee and CHF 0.144 per kg of roasted coffee.7,10 The cooperative réservesuisse manages the coffee guarantee fund.7,8 Coffee that is exported again is entitled to a refund from the guarantee fund.8 How the levy enters a landed cost is shown in How a coffee price is made.
In 2019 the authorities proposed to end compulsory coffee stocks. They argued that coffee was no longer a vital good.10,11 After the consultation, they saw no need for action, and the three-month requirement stayed.9 At the end of 2025, 17 companies stored 20,180 t of coffee, and stocks are being built up to 20,640 t by the end of 2026.8,12
Reference values, as dated#
| Parameter | Value | Date and basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of world green coffee trade via Swiss-based traders | ≈55% (estimate) | Swiss government, 2025; method not stated | 1 |
| Other estimates of the share | ≥50%; ≈50% Lake Geneva + 10% Winterthur; 60–70% | 2019; 2013 (trade-association figures); 2024 | 3,2,4 |
| Coffee imports, all forms | 187,591 t; CHF 745 million | 2019, customs statistics (provisional) | 6 |
| Coffee exports, all forms | 83,819 t; CHF 2,492 million | 2019, customs statistics (provisional) | 6 |
| Average customs value per kg | CHF 4.00 (imports); CHF 29.70 (exports) | 2019, customs table | 6 |
| Coffee exports, all forms | 12,747 t; CHF 202 million | 2006 | 6 |
| Unroasted share of imports; roasted share of exports | 93% (basis not stated); 98% (by volume) | 2019 | 6 |
| Green coffee imports | ≈192,000 t; 99% direct from producing countries; 1.1% re-exported | 2021 | 5 |
| Coffee imports recorded by the stockpiling system | 236,297 t (2024); 233,957 t (2025) | All forms; 2025: green not decaffeinated 202,082 t, green decaffeinated 12,069 t, roasted 15,938 t (our sum of 15,351 t not decaffeinated and 587 t decaffeinated) | 8 |
| Exported coffee entitled to a refund of the contribution | 150,568 t (2024); 174,250 t (2025) | Basis (green or product weight) not stated | 8 |
| Per capita consumption | ≈7.9 kg per year | 2020 | 5 |
| Domestic consumption | ≈64,000 t green coffee (over 1,074,000 bags of 60 kg) | 2021 | 5 |
| Guarantee fund contribution, green coffee | CHF 0.12 per kg (before: CHF 0.051) | From 1 January 2024; tariff numbers 0901.1100 and 0901.1200 | 7 |
| Guarantee fund contribution, roasted coffee | CHF 0.144 per kg (before: CHF 0.0612) | From 1 January 2024; 0901.2100 and 0901.2200 | 7 |
| Guarantee fund contribution, coffee | CHF 3.75 per 100 kg | 2019, as stated in the consultation draft | 10 |
| Required coverage of compulsory coffee stocks | 3 months of demand | Federal Council decision, reported 2023; unchanged in 2025 | 9,8 |
| Compulsory coffee stocks | 15,300 t, 15 companies (2019); 18,750 t (2023); 20,180 t, 17 companies (end of 2025) | Target 20,640 t by the end of 2026 | 10,9,8 |
| Coffee guarantee fund | CHF 13.3 million; reserve of 6.4 months (rule: 6 months) | End of 2025 | 8 |
The 2019 CHF per kg values are given in the customs table; the 2006 value is our division of the customs value by the volume.6 All of them mix product forms: green coffee, roasted coffee, capsules and extracts are not separated in the press release.
How the stockpiling system works#
The legal basis is the National Economic Supply Act (Landesversorgungsgesetz, LVG), its ordinance and the ordinances on compulsory stocks of each sector.13 Target quantities, except for medicines, follow the average consumption of the past three years.13 There are five compulsory-stock organisations, and every company that must hold stocks is a member of one.13 Private industry organisations manage the guarantee funds that cover the cost of the stocks.13 The Federal Office for National Economic Supply (Bundesamt für wirtschaftliche Landesversorgung, BWL) states that the costs are passed on to consumers through sales prices.13
For coffee the fund is held by réservesuisse. Contributions are charged per kg by customs tariff number and were raised from 1 January 2024.7 Contributions on coffee that leaves the country again are refunded; in 2025 about 174,000 t of exported coffee qualified.8 The levy therefore falls mainly on coffee consumed in Switzerland (our inference). At the end of 2025 the coffee fund held CHF 13.3 million, a reserve of 6.4 months against a rule of six months.8
Data table
| t | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 (15 companies) | 15,300 | 10 |
| 2023 | 18,750 | 8, 9 |
| End of 2025 (17 companies) | 20,180 | 8 |
| Target, end of 2026 | 20,640 | 8 |
The 2019 debate on ending coffee stocks#
In its 2019 consultation draft, the BWL proposed removing coffee from compulsory stockpiling because coffee was no longer to be classed as a vital good.10 At that time 15 companies held 15,300 t, and compulsory and free coffee stocks together covered an average of six months of normal consumption.10 The six months referred to all coffee stocks; the compulsory requirement is set separately in months of demand.9,10
The consultation showed divided interests. Six of the 15 stockholders were in favour of keeping the stocks, but only with financial compensation; coffee importers without stocks opposed keeping them.11 An industry group argued that the stocks cost taxpayers nothing because the guarantee fund pays for them.11
The proposal did not go ahead. The BWL’s 2023 report records no need for action after the 2019 consultation and a Federal Council decision to keep the coverage at three months.9 In 2023 an increase from 18,750 t to 20,640 t by the end of 2026 was decided.8 As of the BWL’s report on 2025, the coffee stocks are being built up further in 2026 to reach the required coverage.12
Estimates of the trade share and why they differ#
The figures for Switzerland’s share of the world coffee trade come from different bodies and years. The 2013 Federal Council report takes its coffee figures from the Geneva Trading and Shipping Association.2 The same report shows industry estimates of global market shares in a chart and notes that they could not be verified.2 Public Eye (2019) and a 2024 university discussion paper give their own estimates, again without a stated method.3,4
The estimates also count different things. Some speak of trade passing through a region, some of trade dispatched from Switzerland, and the 2025 government letter of trade via Swiss-based companies.1,2,3 Merchanting does not appear in Swiss import statistics, because the goods do not cross the border.2 Customs data therefore cannot confirm any of these shares. Coffearium gives the range and the government estimate, with dates.
Sustainability and transparency debates#
The Federal Council’s position, as set out in its report of 30 November 2018, is to keep Switzerland competitive and sound as a commodity location.14 It aims to strengthen integrity and sustainability by promoting global standards.14 The report states that the commodity sector still faces challenges in respecting human rights, and it stresses the need for quantitative data on the sector.14 In 2017 merchanting receipts equalled 3.8% of Swiss gross domestic product (GDP), across all commodities.14
Public Eye, a Swiss non-governmental organisation (NGO), sees the sector differently. It describes agricultural commodity trading as opaque and high-risk for human rights, and it calls the lack of data unacceptable.3 It argues that regulation of the sector is long overdue and that the government has ignored recommendations to regulate it.3
For coffee, government and industry chose a voluntary, joint approach. The Swiss Sustainable Coffee Platform (SSCP) was launched in Bern on 6 June 2024.15 It brings together the Swiss coffee industry, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), civil society and academia, with the aim of improving sustainability in the coffee sector.15 No source opened for this entry has evaluated its results as of October 2026.
How the EU Deforestation Regulation affects Swiss companies that sell coffee into the European Union is covered in EUDR.
Open questions#
- Measured trade share. No official statistic measures the share of world green coffee trade contracted by Swiss-based companies; all figures opened for this entry are estimates without a stated method.1,2,3,4
- Capsules in the trade statistics. The official sources opened here do not separate capsules from other roasted coffee, so the capsule share of Swiss export value is not established.5,6
- Basis of the refund quantities. The réservesuisse report does not say whether exported quantities entitled to a refund are counted as product weight or green-coffee equivalent.8
- Effect of the SSCP. The platform started in June 2024; no evaluation of its projects was found.15
Key reports#
Interdepartmental platform on commodities, 2013 – Background Report: Commodities. The Swiss government’s first broad review of the commodity sector. It defines merchanting, traces the trade back to the 18th century and names the main trading regions; its coffee shares come from a trade association.
Legge et al., 2024 – Switzerland’s Rise as a Global Coffee Capital. A trade-data analysis of Swiss coffee imports and exports from customs and UN Comtrade data. It links the export boom to capsules and shows a large gap between the value per kilo of exports and imports.
BWL, 2019 – Consultation on compulsory coffee stocks. The explanatory report proposed removing coffee from compulsory stockpiling and gave the stock size and levy at the time. The results report records how stockholders, importers and industry groups responded.
réservesuisse, 2026 – Annual report 2025. The compulsory-stock organisation reports stock quantities, guarantee fund balances and the import and export quantities it records. For coffee it gives the planned build-up to 20,640 t by the end of 2026.
Public Eye, 2019 – Switzerland: A global hub in agricultural commodity trade. An NGO overview of Swiss-based agricultural traders. It estimates their share of world trade in grain, coffee and sugar and argues for regulation and more transparency.
- Share of world coffee trade handled from Switzerland: a 2013 Federal Council report gives about one half through the Lake Geneva region plus 10% through Winterthur, citing a trade association2; Public Eye (2019) gives at least 50%3; the Swiss government (2025) gives an estimated 55%1; a 2024 university discussion paper gives 60–70%, citing a 2017 news article.4 None of the sources states how the share was measured.
- Value of Swiss roasted coffee exports: Swiss customs statistics give CHF 2,492 million for all coffee exports in 2019, 98% of it roasted by volume6; a Dutch government market study (2022) gives EUR 304 million as Switzerland’s roasted coffee export value, the highest in Europe, in a section on 2021 data.5 The study states neither the year nor the data source of this value, so the gap cannot be explained from the sources opened.
Coffearium (2026). Switzerland and the coffee trade. Coffearium – The open coffee compendium. Retrieved 22 October 2026, from https://coffearium.org/entries/switzerland-and-the-coffee-trade/
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author = {{Coffearium}},
title = {{Switzerland and the coffee trade}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Coffearium -- The open coffee compendium},
url = {https://coffearium.org/entries/switzerland-and-the-coffee-trade/},
urldate = {2026-10-22},
note = {Retrieved 22 October 2026}
}Entries are updated when the evidence changes; the retrieval date tells your readers which version you used. Changes are listed in the Change log.
Change log
- – The 93% unroasted share of 2019 imports is no longer described as a share by volume; only the 98% roasted share of exports is. Reason: The customs press release states the basis only for the export share.
- – The 2019 average values per kilo now use the customs table (CHF 4.00 imports, CHF 29.70 exports) instead of our own division (3.97, 29.73). Reason: The source publishes these averages itself; the 2006 value remains our arithmetic.
- – The 60–70% estimate is now marked as resting on a news article, and the EUR 304 million export value is no longer dated 2021. Reason: The discussion paper cites a 2017 news article for the share; the market study states neither year nor data source for the value.
Sources
- AGovernment of Switzerland (2025). Communication from Switzerland (ED 2491/25): invitation to the 142nd Session of the International Coffee Council in Geneva. International Coffee Organization, circulated 18 August 2025.
- A/BInterdepartmental platform on commodities (FDFA, FDF, EAER) (2013). Background Report: Commodities. Report to the Swiss Federal Council.
- BPublic Eye (2019). Switzerland: A global hub in agricultural commodity trade. Public Eye, Zurich and Lausanne.
- BLegge, S.; Oberholzer, R.; Rosenthal, J. (2024). Swiss Trade Monitor 11: Switzerland's Rise as a Global Coffee Capital. University of St. Gallen (HSG), discussion paper.
- A(2022). The Swiss market potential for coffee. CBI – Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- A(2020). Schweizerischer Aussenhandel 2019: Rekordjahr für die Kaffee-Exporte. Eidgenössische Zollverwaltung (EZV), Sektion Statistik, Eidgenössisches Finanzdepartement.
- A/BAdaptation guarantee fund contribution Coffee. réservesuisse genossenschaft, Bern.
- A/B(2026). Geschäftsbericht 2025. réservesuisse genossenschaft, Bern.
- A(2023). Bericht zur Vorratshaltung 2023. Bundesamt für wirtschaftliche Landesversorgung (BWL), Eidgenössisches Departement für Wirtschaft, Bildung und Forschung.
- A(2019). Erläuternder Bericht zur Änderung der Verordnung über die Pflichtlagerhaltung von Nahrungs- und Futtermitteln (Vernehmlassungsvorlage). Bundesamt für wirtschaftliche Landesversorgung (BWL), Eidgenössisches Departement für Wirtschaft, Bildung und Forschung.
- A(2019). Vernehmlassungsverfahren vom 10. April 2019 bis 19. Juli 2019 zur Änderung der Verordnung über die Pflichtlagerhaltung von Nahrungs- und Futtermitteln: Ergebnisbericht. Bundesamt für wirtschaftliche Landesversorgung (BWL), Eidgenössisches Departement für Wirtschaft, Bildung und Forschung.
- A(2026). Berichterstattung über die Aufsichtstätigkeit und die Garantiefonds der Pflichtlagerorganisationen (Stand 31.12.2025). Bundesamt für wirtschaftliche Landesversorgung (BWL), Aufsicht Pflichtlagerhaltung.
- A(2026). Faktenblatt: Das Schweizer Pflichtlagersystem im Überblick. Bundesamt für wirtschaftliche Landesversorgung (BWL).
- A(2018). Commodities: Federal Council continues to engage for competitive and morally sound business location. State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Swiss Confederation.
- A(2024). United for greater sustainability in the coffee sector. The Federal Council, Swiss Confederation.
Tier A · authoritative · B · trade and expert · C · general. Supporting quotes for every source are in the data version of this entry. If a publisher’s site refuses access, try the doi link or “other copies”.
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