Switzerland seeks data on commodity trading in face of Russia-Ukraine war

Studies suggest that Switzerland accounts for over a third of the global crude oil trade. Keystone / Martin Divisek

The Swiss government will begin collecting data from commodity trading companies as the war in Ukraine highlights the importance of the sector both domestically and for foreign policy, the Federal Council said in a statement on Wednesday.

Currently there are no official figures in Switzerland on the commodity trading industry’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product or on goods traded by locally-based companies. The government’s statistics bureau will request information from around 400 companies over the next three years, it said.

The move comes as Switzerland is juggling the implementation of Western sanctions against Russian resources with its status as a major hub for trading the country’s energy, grains and metals and a history of neutrality in international conflicts.

+ How Switzerland became a major player in commodity trading

“The need for better data arises from the economic importance of the sector for domestic and foreign policy and already existed before the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. Since the beginning of the conflict, however, the issue has come to a head,” the statement said.

Studies suggest that Switzerland accounts for over a third of the global crude oil trade, over two thirds of metals trading and over 35% of the world’s agricultural trade, it said.

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