Why Switzerland maintains unprofitable sugar production

Between October and December, more than one and a half million tonnes of beetroot are harvested in Switzerland. They are used to fuel a national sugar industry that could not survive without massive state support. We went to Aarberg, where the biggest sugar factory in the country is located. By Samuel Jaberg Thomas Kern In the distance, thick white smoke rises through the morning haze of the Bernese Seeland region. As you approach the gigantic sugar factory in Aarberg, in the heart of this region that serves as a vegetable garden for Switzerland, huge storage tanks gradually emerge from the mist. The scents of caramel and earth mingle in the air as an endless stream of trucks, tractors and trains rush towards the factory gates to unload their huge loads of sugar beet. Between October and December, the beet harvesting season, almost 10,000 tonnes of this white root are brought to Aarberg every weekday from the four corners of Switzerland. The beets are cleaned, pulped and processed ...