Due to a lack of milk, there is a threat of a shortage of butter in Switzerland. Therefore, Bern temporarily increases the import quota for the dairy product. A wet summer in 2021 and a dry spring this year led to lower quality animal feed. This in turn meant that the approximately 500,000 Swiss dairy cows yielded less. And that in turn plays into the hands of Swiss butter producers, who have to compete with the cheese industry for milk and cannot meet domestic demand due to a milk shortage. Therefore, Bern intervenes at the request of the branch Federation of the dairy industry. The Federal Office of Agriculture is jacking up the maximum amount of butter allowed to be imported until the end of the year, already for the fifth time in 2022. A further 1,000 tonnes will be added, bringing the total to 7,100 tonnes, or about 13 per cent of annual demand. The additional import capacity will be released from October 17 and will be auctioned among importers.
