My wife works for a Swiss owned cheese producer and i Hve several friends on both the US import side of cheese as well as the European Export side.
All of Europe is being hit with tariffs, Switzerland however is facing a 39% tariff.
Partly due to pharrmaceuticals, the Swiss Ecomonymy being an investment competitor to the US and many other claimed factors.
What it means to consumerso of Gruyere?
Producers are already reducing production numbers, expecting a drop in export sales.
The tariffs themselves( more eloquently stated in the attached article), is that the pass through costs of import and distribution have the potential to cause the retail of Gruyere to be in the upper $40 dollar range per lb., when my friend wrote the article, the expected max tariff was 31%.
I’ve already got several pounds cryovaced and stored away… you might consider the $12.99 1 lb. blocks at Costco to be a good investment right now. The stuff i saw on the shelf today had a Best Buy Date of 10/30. Shredding and freezing is always an option if you are cooking with it as well.
Expect all your European Favorite cheese to get more pricey with an average of 15% tariff, up from 1.7% last year.
Between prior tariffs and increasing pressure across distribution and an unsure market we will likely see more increases passed along when possible. Several retailers and distributors are trying to lock out or reduce producer requests for FOB/ delivered cost though the rest of the calendar year, but at a certain point additional expense will have to be passed on.
Savor your fondue this fall…
by Culinaryhermit