The business climate remains strong for Swiss SMEs. The majority of the companies surveyed expect exports to grow in the second half of 2022. However, the outlook is less favorable in annual comparison.
The index relating to the outlook for exports of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) published Thursday by Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE) and Credit Suisse stood at 66.6 points, well above the growth threshold of 50 points. .
Credit Suisse’s export barometer, which reflects foreign demand for Swiss products, reached 1.49 points, remaining in the growth zone but showing a level well below that of the start of the year (2.15 points).
These relatively high values are clearly lower than those observed last year, say the authors of the survey in a press release. This downturn is less caused by a weakening in demand – the order books being full – than by supply problems, high energy prices as well as the uncertainties linked to the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine. .
Machinery manufacturers, the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors are particularly affected by bottlenecks in supply chains. Pharma exports should continue to grow, but at a slower pace than in 2020 and 2021.
In the machinery, electrical equipment and metals (MEM) industry, supply risks are heightened by containment measures in China. Swiss watch exports also suffered from the weak consumer climate in the Middle Kingdom and Hong Kong.
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