‘Chocolate Law’ subsidy stays sweet for food manufacturers

Nestlè and other food manufacturers will receive the same levels of export subsidies for using milk and cereals from Swiss farmers next year. The government wanted to trim Chocolate Law payments by CHF26.7 million but parliament voted to maintain the current level of nearly CHF95 million ($93.8 million). The decision is seen as a victory for the powerful food industry and farming lobby groups. So what is the Chocolate Law, how did it come into existence and how long can it keep going? The Chocolate Law The so-called Schoggigesetz (or Chocolate Law) was introduced in 1974 to compensate Swiss food exporters for the high price of Swiss agricultural goods. Milk and wheat are more expensive to produce in high price Switzerland while high custom duties curtail cheaper foreign imports. The Swiss food manufacturing industry accounts for around 10% of all Swiss-produced cereals and 7% of milk. Its lobby group estimates that companies have to pay two to three times (or ...