Swiss supermarkets begin boycott of Russian goods

Some of Switzerland’s largest supermarkets have announced a boycott of Russian goods, while the country’s largest supermarket said it would wait for a government ban.

Published: 2 March 2022 17:12 CET

A truck from Switzerland's Coop supermarket drives through the streets. Photo by Ardian Lumi on Unsplash

Swiss supermarkets Coop and Globus have announced they will boycott Russian goods due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Coop and Globus both announced orders would no longer be placed for products originating or being packed in Russia.

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Migros, Switzerland’s largest supermarket, however said it will continue to stock Russian items and will wait for a government ban before taking further steps.

A spokesperson from Coop told Switzerland’s 20 Minutes that while only a handful of products were ordered from Russia, including vodka and frozen fish, the ban would come into effect immediately.

“Due to the current situation, Coop has decided to stop sourcing food from this country of origin (Russia) for the time being. Existing stocks are still being sold to avoid food waste,” the spokesperson said.

Globus said it had removed all Russian items from its offerings, which include honeycomb, caviar and vodka, the latter of which accounts for 80 percent of the supermarket’s Russian sales.

Migros, Switzerland’s largest and perhaps best known supermarket, on the other hand decided against joining a boycott.

“So far, the Federal Council has not imposed a boycott of Russian goods,” a spokesperson told 20 Minutes.

“Anyone who would like to avoid food from the Russian Federation out of personal conviction can of course do so thanks to the transparent declaration of origin printed on the packaging,” a spokesperson said.

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German discounter Aldi Suisse also said a boycott was not yet being implemented, but would “continue to monitor and analyse the situation and possible effects on our supply chains on an ongoing basis”.

Swiss news outlet 20 Minutes reports that German discounter Lidl does not stock Russian products.

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The study said the security picture in Europe had sharply deteriorated, notably due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, power politics and increasingly destabilised crisis regions.

The defence ministry established the study commission on security policy in July 2023, and tasked it with outlining security policy adapted to current threats.

Its report contained more than 100 recommendations, chiefly concerning Swiss neutrality, international cooperation, armaments policy and the orientation of security strategy.

Switzerland’s long-standing position has been one of well-armed military neutrality.

The landlocked nation is neither in NATO nor the EU, while its neighbours Germany, Italy and France are in both, and Austria is an EU member.

“The neutrality policy must be revised, more focused on its security function and applied more flexibly,” a statement said.

A majority of the commission recommended that the neutrality policy be more closely aligned with the United Nations charter, with greater consideration of the distinction between aggressor and victim.

“Switzerland cannot represent a security gap in Europe,” and its location surrounded by the EU makes the need for defence cooperation “clear”, the report said.

“Neutrality is no obstacle to cooperation with NATO in security policy matters,” it added.

“Cooperation with NATO and the EU should be further deepened with the aim of a common defence capability and developing a genuine defence cooperation,” the statement said.

Switzerland should therefore set out its expectations from its own defence capabilities, and what it could offer to cooperation partners.

With the committee finding hybrid warfare was “the main threat to Switzerland”, the country’s arms industry should be strengthened and calibrated more closely to the threat situation.

Therefore, “access to EU and NATO cooperation projects should be ensured”.

The report also called for strengthened diplomatic efforts on international arms control and on regulating new technologies.

The report’s author said Russia’s aggression in Ukraine opened the door to a conflict with NATO, and said Switzerland’s neutrality did not guarantee it would not be attacked.

The study recommended increasing the defence budget to one percent of gross domestic product by 2030.

The report will feed into the broader 2025 security policy strategy.