People in Switzerland are eating more and more eggs and domestic chickens can’t keep up with the demand. The Swiss government has been forced to act.
Egg consumption in Switzerland is skyrocketing.
Between 2023 and 2024 alone, 198 eggs per year were consumed in the country per capita — an increase of almost 5 percent over previous years, the government said in a press release on Wednesday.
At the same time, Swiss egg production has increased by only 2.8 percent — not enough to satisfy the growing consumer demand.
That is why from June 1st, 2025 and until the end of the year, the government is green-lighting the import of up to 10,000 additional tonnes of eggs at reduced customs duties.
“The Federal Council increased the quota for eggs by 48 percent to 31,000 tonnes,” according to the press release. “This measure will allow for the import of approximately 158 million additional eggs at a reduced customs duty rate by the end of the year and ensure the country’s supply of eggs during the current year.”
As everything else in organised Switzerland, the imported eggs will be distributed in an orderly manner: the additional volume will be divided into two batches, one to be sold from June 1st and the other from September to guarantee the supply of eggs for the Christmas season, “which generates significant turnover.”
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Therefore, from June 1st, “the Federal Office of Customs and Border Security will auction the first batch of 6,500 tonnes on its website, while the second, amounting to 3,500 tonnes, will be available from September. 1st. As usual, the quota will be allocated in the order in which customs declarations are received.”
The government has not specify from where these batches will be imported.
