Export growth seems to have stalled as the year enters the final quarter. Export sentiment measured by S-GE and the Credit Suisse Export Barometer indicates that exports of goods and services are unlikely to increase any time soon. However, they are not expected to decline, either.
Tiziana Hunziker, economist at Credit Suisse, comments: “Sentiment in Europe’s industrial sector has gotten worse. Industrial enterprises in the eurozone have been bogged down by Brexit and by the uncertainty associated with the US-China trade war. We therefore expect demand to soften further in Europe, which will hamper growth prospects for exporting Swiss SMEs overall.”
Alberto Silini, Head of Consulting at Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE), adds: “Export sentiment has worsened slightly but is still in growth territory. Swiss companies can hold their own internationally in terms of their sustainability performance. Their strategic positioning is confirmed by the fact that over half of the SMEs see sustainability as a key success factor.”
Further information on the SME export outlook for the fourth quarter of 2019 can be found in the brochure.
Video statements (in German) on current export sentiment by Tiziana Hunziker, Credit Suisse economist, and Alberto Silini, Head of Consulting at Switzerland Global Enterprise, are available here.
The SME Export Outlook for the first semester of 2020 will be published on January 16, 2020.
