SWITZERLAND [NEWS SERVICE] ⋅ Whether for chocolate or biscuits, Swiss sugar production is under pressure. The Council of States therefore wants to deal with an amendment to the law that aims to further support sugar production.
In the spring, the National Council decided that it wanted to continue supporting Swiss sugar production. Against the will of the Federal Council, it decided to make changes to the Agriculture Act. He wants to anchor individual crop contributions to farmers and border guards for sugar in law. The background to this is a decision by the EU, which released the production quantities in 2017 and lifted export regulations. As a result, the sugar price also came under pressure in Switzerland, and the cultivation of beets was no longer economically interesting.
The Council of States dealt with the proposal on Thursday. He approved the bill with 25 to 18 votes – against the will of the commission. Reporter Ruedi Noser (FDP / ZH) attested in vain that the Federal Council has already worked cleverly on the ordinance route. Erich Ettlin (Die Mitte / OW) also unsuccessfully called for continued trust in the Federal Council. The solution through a law would be the wrong way, he said.
A legal basis gives more and more security, said Hannes Germann (SVP / SH) happily. His party colleague Jakob Stark (TG) fears that, unless the framework conditions are permanently adjusted by parliament, domestic sugar production will be displaced by foreign sugar. Now the Economic Commission has to deal with the bill.
Swiss sugar remains an issue
In addition, the Council of States rejected a motion that was supposed to promote the organic cultivation of sugar beet. The National Council accepted the motion in May. The motion is done. The small chamber is of the opinion that the Federal Council is already working on the implementation of the demands.
The Council of States had already dealt with a motion in December that called for the same length of skewers for Swiss sugar. This concerns a temporary exemption for a plant protection product. Numerous EU countries have adopted such exemption clauses. This creates competitive disadvantages for Swiss farmers and the sugar industry. The Council of States assigned the motion to the commission for preliminary consultation. (help)
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