THE ECONOMIC POSITION OF SWITZERLAND DURING THE WAR. I. THE SWISS FOOD SUPPLY. PRODUCTION AND NET IMPORTS OF CEREALS, 1911-1918. The Swiss people, numbering approximately 4,000,000 persons and living in a country of less than 16,000 square miles, only a small fraction of which is arable, are dependent in a large measure upon other countries for their supplies of grain. They are essentially a wheat-eating people, and wheat is by far their most important bread cereal and grain import. The average annual consumption of wheat cereal in Switzerland during the pre-war years, 1911 to 1913, amounted to 577,261 tons, as compared with a total consumption of cereals (wheat, barley, rye, oats, corn, and rice) of 1,060,856 tons. In other words, the Swiss consumed more wheat than all other cereals combined. These figures cover seed and grain fed to animals. Of the 577,261 tons of wheat consumed annually, the Swiss produced on their own lands only 93,000 tons, or 16 per cent. In regard to other cereals, their dependence upon outside supplies was also great, they having produced only 26 per cent of the 483,595 tons of other cereals consumed annually from 1911 to 1913. Of the total consumption of cereals, averaging 1,060,856 tons for the three years 1911 to 1913, the Swiss produced only 219,000 tons, or 20 per cent. Such having been the state of affairs, there was real occasion for alarm in the small inland Republic when, in 1914 and after, all its neighbors became involved in the great war, which threatened disaster to overseas traffic and involved a world shortage of foodstuffs. However, in the matter of cereals the Swiss suffered no serious hardships during the first three years of war, except those due to inequitable distribution of available supplies among the population, and it was only in 1917 and 1918 that the Swiss became painfully aware of an emptiness in the national bread box. During the first three war years, 1914-1916, there was no decrease in the quantity of wheat imported, the average annual imports of wheat amounting to 507,102 tons, as compared with the pre-war average of 484,717 tons. The total quantity of grain imported annually fell to 765,262, as compared with the 1911 to 1913 average of 843,055 tons. The average annual import of flour and meal showed a decrease from 77,467 tons (1911-1913) to 36,125 tons. This general decrease was to a degree offset by an increase in home production, the production of wheat in the first three war years rising to TABLE OF CONTENTS. Letter of submittal.. I. The Swiss food supply Production and net imports of cereals, 1911–1918- Production and net imports of potatoes, 1911-1918 Vegetables and fruits__ Production and consumption of dairy products, 1911-1918- Production and consumption of meat, 1911-1918 Net imports of colonial foodstuffs_. Effect of the war upon the Swiss live-stock supply_ II. Minerals and woods_____ Minerals___. Wood-Imports and exports‒‒‒‒ Production and consumption of wood__ Forest area and conservation____ Woodworking industries__ Price of wood____. Future prospects. III. Manufacturing industries_ Introduction__-_ Textile industries Food manufacturing industries__ Metal and chemical industries_. IV. The Swiss railways____ V. Finance Foreign exchange Public finance__- Cost of living- Banking---- VI. Foreign trade as affected by the war. Introduction_-_. Switzerland's foreign trade-Classes of merchandise__. Switzerland's trade with Italy--- Switzerland's trade with Great Britain_____ VII. Summary. Page. 5 7 7 10 10 11 16 18 19 21 21 22 23 25 26 27 27 28 28 28 35 35 38 42 42 43 44 44 49 49 49 49 55 58 67 71 74 78 83 INDEX TO TABLES. Page. Swiss production of cereals, 1911-1918_-. 9 Swiss imports, exports, and net imports of wheat, other cereals, meal and flour, 1911-1918_. 9 Swiss production and net imports of potatoes, 1911-1918 10 Swiss net imports of fruits and vegetables, 1911-1917, and production, 1908-1912 11 Production and consumption of milk in Switzerland, 1911-1918_-_. 12 13 Swiss supplies of dairy products in terms of fresh milk, 1911-1918. 16 18 18 19 Statistics showing the effect of the war upon Swiss live-stock supply__. Swiss imports and exports of wood and manufactures, calendar years 1913-1917 20 22 Production and consumption of wood in Switzerland, 1907-1910 and 1912– 1917 Woodworking industries of Switzerland__ 26 Net imports of raw materials for the cotton, silk, and woolen industries__ 24 29 30 Swiss imports and exports of textile materials, 1911-1917, and three-year averages, 1911-1913 and 1914-1916___ Equipment and traffic of the Swiss Federal railways, 1913–1917-- 39 Gross earnings, operating expenses, and net earnings of the Swiss railways, 1913-1916___ 40 Gross earnings, operating expenses, and net earnings of the Swiss Federal railways, 1913–1917–. Leading imports into Switzerland from Germany., 1913–1917_. 62 63 64 65 68 69 72 73 76 77 81 82 |