China tops export destination ranking for Swiss SMEs

Switzerland has a free trade agreement with China since 2014 Keystone

A study commissioned by Switzerland Global Enterprise (SGE) indicates that China is the most attractive export destination for Swiss small and medium enterprises (SMEs). 

A total of 107 countries were evaluated using a set of 15 criteria that included market size, market potential, export volume and average market growth in recent years. China’s GDP of $11.2 trillion (CHF11.05 trillion) in 2016 with a growth rate of over 6% makes it a very significant market. A free trade agreement with Switzerland that came into effect in 2014, offers certain advantages to Swiss companies. 

“Customs duties for a number of sectors have already been reduced or even abolished by the agreement. This gives Swiss companies a price advantage over European competitors, for example,” said Alberto Silini, head of consulting at SGE. 

Besides China, the US, South Korea, Singapore and the UK made it into the top five. United Arab Emirates, Canada, Poland, Japan and Germany completed the top 10. The SGE study also ranked export destinations by region. The ASEAN region (Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia) ranked first followed by the Gulf States (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates) and the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg).