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Meat sales drop in Switzerland

A piglet being stroked
Swiss butchers and supermarkets are selling less pork Keystone

Less meat was sold in Switzerland in 2017 than the previous year, although the average Swiss still consumed a good 26 kilograms of meat over the year. 

Sales of domestic and imported meat fell by 0.7% to 221,468 tonnes, the Federal Office for AgricultureExternal link reported. Turnover also dropped by 0.7% to CHF4.64 billion ($4.95 billion). 

+ Why is Swiss meat among the most expensive in the world?

Only chicken and sausages bucked the trend, in particular thighs, nuggets, kebabs and frankfurters. Pork and veal – more than 90% of which was produced in Switzerland – were the losers, both seeing turnover go down. 

For pork, this decrease was caused by lower prices, especially for popular cuts such as chops, steaks, fillet and “Geschnetzeltes” (shredded strips). The agriculture office said the veal dip was due to less veal being produced. 

With an average price of CHF20.95 per kilo across all types of meat, customers paid the same as in 2016. Fresh meat was slightly cheaper, whereas processed meat was slightly more expensive.

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