Meat producers warn of higher sausage prices
Barbecue season is beckoning in Switzerland with the promise of warmer weather but meat producers put a damper on prospects on Thursday by announcing higher prices for the national sausage, the cervelat.
The Schweizer Fleisch-Fachverband (SFF), the Swiss meat producers’ association, this week put consumers on notice that cervelat prices would be rising because of soaring costs for the producers.
The SFF said in a news release that consumers could expect a 15 percent average increase for pork products and 10 percent for other sausages and meats.
For the consumer this translates into a 15-centime hike in the price of Switzerland’s most popular sausage, the pork cervelas, per 100 grams.
The SFF said that its members were being squeezed by livestock slaughtering costs that had risen substantially since 2012 while the retail price of sausage and other meats had remained largely unchanged.
The bill for butchering pigs, for example, had jumped by close to 30 percent, while slaughtering expenses for cattle increased by nine percent, the association said.
The higher costs had led to a “massive” reduction in the margins for both industrial meat producers and artisinal butchers, the SFF said.
This development was no longer supportable without an increase in prices, the association said.
It noted that prices had barely changed for sausages and other meats since 2010 and the livelihood of many butchers was being threatened.
The SFF indicated that consumers should be able to accommodate the higher prices, given that meat currently accounts for only two percent of average household budgets.
As if the news weren’t enough to cast gloom on barbecue lovers, the weather has also turned cool and rainy in much of the country, following a mild winter and warm start to spring.
MeteoSwiss, the national weather office, forecasts that sunny conditions are expected to return on Sunday.
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The Schweizer Fleisch-Fachverband (SFF), the Swiss meat producers’ association, this week put consumers on notice that cervelat prices would be rising because of soaring costs for the producers.
The SFF said in a news release that consumers could expect a 15 percent average increase for pork products and 10 percent for other sausages and meats.
For the consumer this translates into a 15-centime hike in the price of Switzerland’s most popular sausage, the pork cervelas, per 100 grams.
The SFF said that its members were being squeezed by livestock slaughtering costs that had risen substantially since 2012 while the retail price of sausage and other meats had remained largely unchanged.
The bill for butchering pigs, for example, had jumped by close to 30 percent, while slaughtering expenses for cattle increased by nine percent, the association said.
The higher costs had led to a “massive” reduction in the margins for both industrial meat producers and artisinal butchers, the SFF said.
This development was no longer supportable without an increase in prices, the association said.
It noted that prices had barely changed for sausages and other meats since 2010 and the livelihood of many butchers was being threatened.
The SFF indicated that consumers should be able to accommodate the higher prices, given that meat currently accounts for only two percent of average household budgets.
As if the news weren’t enough to cast gloom on barbecue lovers, the weather has also turned cool and rainy in much of the country, following a mild winter and warm start to spring.
MeteoSwiss, the national weather office, forecasts that sunny conditions are expected to return on Sunday.
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