MONET 2030: Export contributions

SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Goal description

«[… ] Agriculture, forestry and fisheries can provide nutritious food for all and generate decent incomes, while supporting people-centred rural development and protecting the environment. Right now, our soils, freshwater, oceans, forests and biodiversity are being rapidly degraded.[…] »

Swiss target 2.b: Switzerland is committed to the timely implementation of the WTO’s Nairobi package and renounces the application or reintroduction of other export competition measures, as described in the Nairobi package.

Significance of the indicator
This indicator shows the budget in millions of Swiss francs allocated to export subsidies for processed agricultural products. Export subsidies allow producers of processed agricultural products to use domestic primary products that are more expensive than imported ones, while remaining competitive in the export market. However, export subsidies for processed agricultural products hamper competition for imports of primary products, such as milk, butter and flour from other countries, which thus contravenes the principles of a market economy. A reduction of these subsidies is therefore a step towards sustainable development.

Help for interpretation
Switzerland has an obligation to notify the World Trade Organisation (WTO) of these export subsidies. The decision made in 2015 at the WTO ministerial conference in Nairobi on export competition requires member states to eliminate all remaining agricultural export subsidies by the end of 2020.

International comparability
This indicator cannot be compared at international level.

Synthesis

Export subsidies are granted for certain commodities exclusively to manufacturers of processed products. They reduce the price of certain commodities that are used to manufacture processed agricultural products intended for export. The rates of export subsidies are in principle calculated on the basis of the price difference between Swiss and foreign key basic commodities. The rates are fixed by the Federal Department of Finance. The export subsidies are calculated according to the quantity of basic commodities used to manufacture the processed agricultural products for export.

Export subsidies for processed agricultural products are granted by the Federal Customs Administration (FCA). They include a regular budget which can be supplemented, based on decisions by the Federal Assembly, by an additional credit.

Swiss target 2.b: Switzerland is committed to the timely implementation of the WTO’s Nairobi package and renounces the application or reintroduction of other export competition measures, as described in the Nairobi package.

International target 2.b: Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in accordance with the mandate of the Doha Development Round.