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Seven products that are becoming more expensive in Switzerland

Helena Bachmann
Helena Bachmann - [email protected]
Seven products that are becoming more expensive in Switzerland
Furniture like this nice couch will be more expensive in Switzerland.Photo by Phillip Goldsberry on Unsplash Photo by Phillip Goldsberry on Unsplash

Covid and the war in Ukraine, coupled with rising inflation, made Switzerland even more expensive than it already was before. These are some of the goods you can expect to pay more for.

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The good news — if we can call it that — is that inflation rate in Switzerland, which stood at 2.6 percent in April, is significantly lower than in neighbouring France (5.4 percent) and Germany (7.8 percent), as well as throughout much of Europe.

However, Swiss consumers are already feeling the increase in prices of many common purchases.

News platform Watson has listed seven goods and services that now cost more, basing its analysis on the national index of consumer prices (LIK), which measures the inflation of consumer goods in Switzerland.

Among the products that are now more expensive are:

Raw materials

Energy prices, including petrol, oil and gas, have increased in recent weeks. “We are currently paying around 77 percent more for heating oil compared to January 2019”, according to Watson.

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A litre of petrol currently costs 2.05 francs, versus 1.60 francs in August 2021.

“A recovery is currently not in sight”, Watson added.

READ MORE: How Covid, Ukraine and energy costs are changing Swiss spending habits

Wood

Wood prices started to go up already during the Covid pandemic in 2020, rising by staggering  500 percent from May 2020 to May 2021.

One of the reasons is that wood pellets can also be used for heating.

"The war has not only made the raw material more expensive, but also the production of the pellets”, according to Andreas Keel, Managing Director of Holzenergie Schweiz, who added that in October a tonne of pellets cost 280 francs, and in January it rose to 360 francs.

What certainly doesn’t help matters is that Russia is one of the world’s largest wood exporters and the sanctions currently in place against this country are exacerbating this shortage.

READ MORE: Switzerland extends sanctions on Russian assets

Furniture

If you are looking for a new sofa, table or another piece of furniture, now is not a good time to purchase them, as their cost has risen by around 15 percent. One reason, as stated above, is the higher price of wood, but there are other contributing factors as well.

“The Swedish furnishing giant Ikea increased its prices by an average of 9 percent at the end of 2021. With a market share of 11 percent, Ikea is one of the big players in Switzerland”, Watson said.

Food

While food amounts to only 6.3 percent of an average household budget, it is probably the most important, as nobody can live without it.

The main reason for the increase is that Ukraine exports foodstuffs such as grain, which affects not only prices of products like baked goods and pasta, but also the cost of animal feed — the latter being essential for the production meat and dairy.

Clothing

Clothing prices typically increase in April / May, but this year they rose more than usual.

The war and Covid-related delivery issues are main factors, but the worst is yet to come, according to Andreas Bartmann, vice-president of  the industry association of textile retailers.

“In the fall, [price hikes] will hit us massively," he said.

READ MORE: How to protect your savings against inflation in Switzerland

Transportation

“Anyone who wants to buy a new car currently has to pay around 10 percent more than in January 2019”, Watson said.

And this increase is likely to continue, mainly due to higher costs of  raw materials and general delivery problems.

Opting for the used-car market is not a solution either, Watson noted, as “the prices there rose even more significantly than for new cars due to the excess demand”.

You could opt for a new motorcycle or bike, but there too prices are expected to climb — also due to shortage of raw materials and delivery bottlenecks.

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Travel

Now that Covid restrictions have been lifted in most countries, foreign travel may remain inaccessible for many people anyway,  because it became more expensive.

One major reason is that, with fuel now costing more, airlines are increasing the price of tickets.

By the same token, the price of petrol could make driving to your holiday destination costlier as well.

Your best bet may be to just stay home. It will feel like 2020 all over again, but without the masks.

 

 

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