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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

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.

EXPLAINED: Everything you need to know about Switzerland’s supermarkets

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.

Cost of living: How to save on groceries in Switzerland

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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Switzerland to host Ukraine peace conference without Russian involvement

The conference will take place at the luxury Burgenstock resort near the central city of Luzern on June 15th -16th and would be hosted by Swiss President Viola Amherd.

“This is a first step in a process towards a lasting peace,” she told reporters in Bern.

Russia quickly slammed the planned conference and Amherd acknowledged that “we will not sign a peace plan at this conference”, but said she hoped “there will be a second conference”.

“We hope to start the process.”

Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and is putting Ukrainian forces under new pressure, condemned the event as being part of a scheme by US President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party ahead of this year’s presidential election.

“American Democrats, who need photos and videos of events that supposedly indicate their project ‘Ukraine’ is still afloat, are behind this,” the state-run TASS news agency quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

Switzerland hopes to get Russia into later talks.

The government said in January, during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that it wanted to organise a peace conference this year.

‘Support for peace’

The government said in a statement Wednesday that it “took note of the results of the exploratory phase of the high-level conference on peace in Ukraine”.

It determined that “there is currently sufficient international support for a high-level conference to launch the peace process.”

In January, Zelensky spoke of a “summit” without any Russian participation.

But traditionally neutral Switzerland wants to find a way to bring the Kremlin into the talks, and has been battling to attract China and other emerging powers.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis also tried to woo Moscow, meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in New York in January.

Russia, angered by the Swiss decision to follow the neighbouring European Union in imposing sanctions, has charged the country can no longer be considered neutral.

On Wednesday, Cassis acknowledged Russia’s absence from the table but stressed that the aim was to include Moscow in future talks.

“A peace process cannot happen without Russia, even though it will not be there during the first meeting,” he said.

Since deciding that it wanted to host a conference, the Swiss government said it had been “in direct contact with numerous states to explore options for initiating a peace process”.

Switzerland had held talks with G7 member states, the EU and representatives of the Global South, including China, India, South Africa and Brazil, it said.

Bern did not disclose who would be attending, but Swiss media reports said US President Joe Biden would be on the list.

The conference will be aimed at establishing “a forum for a high-level dialogue on ways to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine in accordance with international law and the UN Charter,” the government said.

“It aims to create a common understanding of a framework favourable to this objective and a concrete roadmap for Russia’s participation in the peace process.”

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