The government’s VoteInfo App showed a provisional result of 62.86 per cent of votes against the proposal, put to a referendum under the Swiss system of direct democracy, to make protecting the dignity of farm animals such as cattle, chickens and pigs a constitutional requirement.

VoteInfo takes voting results data collated by the Federal Statistics Office.

“I’ve voted no,” said Geneva resident Fabrice Drouin.

“There are farmers who are doing intensive farming with their animals but they are respecting animal welfare and to feed the population, we have to do factory farming, at least a little, otherwise, we won’t be able to eat meat anymore.”

In a second referendum, the Swiss voted narrowly in favour of a planned reform of old-age insurance, which among other things would raise the retirement age for women to 65 from 64.

The farming proposal would have required the government to set stricter rules for caring for animals, including giving them access to the outdoors, and for slaughtering them. The requirements would also have covered imported animals and animal products.

The government recommended against the proposal, saying such changes would breach trade accords, increase investment and operating costs, and boost food prices.

“I think in general, people are regulating themselves on their own,” said Geneva resident Florian Barbon, who opposed the initiative. “I don’t think we need a legal framework for this.”

In a third vote, 52.01 per cent of voters rejected a measure that would have provided for the abolition of a withholding tax on bond interest introduced to prevent tax evasion.

Although investors could reclaim the tax, provided they disclosed the interest income in their tax returns, the government had argued that abolishing the levy would reduce administrative costs and make Switzerland more attractive to business.

— Reporting for Reuters by Cecile Mantovani; writing by Paul Carrel.

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Known for Maggi soups and bouillon cubes, Nestle has been investing in plant-based food to make its prepared dishes unit trendier and more appealing to consumers wishing to lower their meat intake.

Made with pea protein, the new “Garden Gourmet” near-tuna — or “vuna,” as Nestle bills it — will be available in glass jars in the chilled aisle of Swiss supermarkets and can be used in salads, sandwiches and pizzas. Ready-to-eat sandwiches will also be sold in some stores, Nestle said.

Developed within nine months by Nestle’s Swiss research facilities, the tuna is the group’s first plant-based seafood product to hit the market. Soy-based burgers, mince meat, sausages and chicken nuggets are already available.

Nestle said last month that increased at-home consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic boosted demand for its Garden Gourmet plant-based products in the first half of 2020.

The group’s sales of plant-based meat alternatives reached around 200 million Swiss francs (C$289.5 million) last year.

Nestle in January announced an open-ended deal with Canadian plant-based ingredient makers Burcon and Merit Functional Foods for supplies of those companies’ pea- and canola-based plant protein products.

— Reporting for Reuters by Silke Koltrowitz. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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Opinion polls had shown early widespread support for more farm aid was fading as the vote neared and more details about likely costs emerged.

Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann had called the proposals “dangerous” and said they could trigger tariff increases and other reprisals from trading partners.

One proposal, called the Fair Food initiative, called for all food in Switzerland to come from sustainable sources and for labelling to be more exact. It aimed to improve animal welfare by banning imports of factory-farmed products and ensuring food imports met higher Swiss standards.

Voters were set to reject the measure by a 63-37 per cent margin, projections by polling outfit gfs.bern showed. The margin of error was two percentage points.

Supporters such as the Green Party and Social Democrats argued that consumers, animals, the environment and farmers would all benefit.

The other proposal wanted to increase state aid to Swiss farmers, whose numbers have halved since 1985 in a country where three farming businesses close every day.

That was set to fail by a 70-30 per cent margin, the projections showed.

Agriculture’s contribution to the Swiss economy has fallen from two per cent in 1985 to under one per cent.

The referendums were held after farming groups and environmentalists gathered the more than 100,000 signatures needed to trigger a vote under Switzerland’s system of direct democracy.

The government said the demands would lead to higher subsidies or fixed prices, a claim campaigners rejected.

— Reporting for Reuters by Michael Shields.

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Switzerland will two hold referendums on Sept. 23 — one on giving more state support to farmers and another on introducing more sustainable and animal-friendly agricultural practices.

An early poll has shown widespread support for both ideas, but Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann said the “dangerous” proposals could trigger tariff increases and other reprisals from trading partners.

One of the proposals, called the Fair Food initiative, wants all food in Switzerland to come from sustainable sources and make labelling more exact. It wants to improve animal welfare by banning imports of factory-farmed products and ensure food imports meet higher Swiss standards.

Supporters like the Green Party and Social Democrats argue that consumers, animals, the environment and farmers would all benefit.

The other proposal wants to increase state aid to Swiss farmers, whose numbers have halved since 1985 and three farming businesses close every day.

“At first glance these proposals have stirred the sympathy of many citizens,” Schneider-Ammann told a news conference.

“I am convinced that upon closer examination of the proposals citizens will see they will make food more expensive, reduce choice and lead to more cross-border shopping from Switzerland.”

Agriculture’s contribution to the Swiss economy has fallen from two per cent in 1985 to under one per cent.

Supporters of the Food Sovereignty initiative for increased state help for struggling farmers, including farming groups and NGOs, want more price transparency to give farmers more heft when negotiating with retailers and food processors.

They also want to increase the number of people working in agriculture and impose stronger regulations on imports which could be subject to higher tariffs or even bans if they do not meet Swiss standards.

The government said the demands would lead to higher subsidies or fixed prices, a claim campaigners reject.

“We don’t want more money, we just want to improve the negotiating position of farmers,” said campaign spokesman Rudi Berli. “Many are going bankrupt because the prices they get for their products are less than the costs of production.”

Retaliatory measures

The referendums are being held after farming groups and environmentalists gathered more than 100,000 signatures needed to trigger a vote under Switzerland’s system of direct democracy.

Three quarters of people polled back the proposals, according to a survey by GFS Bern, a market research company.

The government says the proposals would lead to large-scale state intervention, while banning imports could prompt other countries to launch retaliatory tariffs and sanctions.

“Increasing the number of people working in agriculture can be done only with additional intervention by the government, and would come with higher costs. The entrepreneurial freedom of farmers would be endangered and their dependence on the state would be enormously increased,” Schneider-Ammann said.

— John Revill is a Reuters correspondent covering Swiss industry and policy from Zurich.

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The two countries on Thursday announced expansions of their previous organic arrangement, which deems their respective certification systems to be equivalent for organic ag commodities and agrifood products. The amended deal takes effect Saturday (Oct. 1).

The arrangement now allows certified Canadian organic multi-ingredient processed products to be exported to Switzerland — and recognizes Canadian and Swiss organic wine standards as equivalent.

Canada has been on Switzerland’s list of recognized third countries since late 2012, allowing Canadian goods certified organic by Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)-accredited bodies to be accepted as organic in Switzerland.

Organic products exported from Canada to Switzerland can bear the Canada Organic logo and/or any logo recognized by the Swiss government. All organic products imported into Switzerland must also meet Swiss labelling requirements.

The code number of the certification body also must appear on the label, as per a Swiss government policy to simplify flow of organic goods between the European Union and Switzerland.

Organic products coming from Switzerland to Canada, under the same arrangement, must be accompanied by an organic certificate issued by a Swiss certification and/or inspection body.

Products certified under the Swiss organic system and exported to Canada may bear the Canada Organic logo, and must also meet other Canadian labelling requirements, CFIA said.

“In today’s global trade environment, this arrangement is great news for Canadian organic processors and producers who will particularly benefit from Switzerland’s processed food and beverage market,” Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay said in a release.

According to the Canadian government, Switzerland today has the eighth largest organic market in the world, valued at $2.66 billion in 2014, up 7.5 per cent from 2013. — AGCanada.com Network

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The “No Speculation with Food” initiative is subject of a binding referendum on Feb. 28 under Switzerland’s system of direct democracy.

Proponents argue that speculative transactions create volatility and lead to hunger and poverty. They point to a study by the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich that speculation can account for 60 to 70 per cent of price movements, making it harder for poor countries to afford food.

The measure would amend the constitution to ban banks, trading houses, insurers and other investors and wealth managers in Switzerland from dealing for themselves or for clients in financial instruments based on agricultural commodities or food.

The government noted that no trading platforms for such products exist in Switzerland and that companies could easily circumvent a ban limited only to this country.

Banning such trades would harm the economy, it added, noting the costs it would impose on the many Swiss-based trading companies, insurers, banks and pension funds that deal in farm product derivatives.

It would also impinge on economic liberties and raise questions about Swiss policies at a time the economy was also labouring under the impact of a strong currency, it added.

— Reporting for Reuters by Michael Shields in Zurich.

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Swiss crop chemicals maker Syngenta is working with Goldman Sachs to assess the merits of a sale to the world’s largest seeds company Monsanto, which is being advised by Morgan Stanley, the sources said.

Rumours of talks between the two companies gained momentum at the end of April, sending shares in Syngenta to a record high of 351 Swiss francs (C$461) on May 4 before easing amid a broad decline in equity markets.

Spokesmen at Monsanto, Syngenta, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

U.S. company Monsanto, which initially approached Syngenta last year, has long been interested in its Swiss rival and the potential to base itself in Switzerland and benefit from lower taxes, one of the sources said.

Following attempts by the U.S. Treasury to clamp down on such moves, known as tax inversion, Monsanto may have to buy Syngenta in a cash rather than stock transaction and would be unable to redomicile in Switzerland, an industry source said.

The St Louis-based group, however, might struggle to finance such a deal, which could cost up to $40 billion, and may need to find a partner to take on Syngenta’s U.S. seeds business before launching a takeover bid, another person familiar with industry said (all figures US$).

Monsanto foresees strong benefits from a takeover of Syngenta, which makes heavy research and development (R+D) investments in crop technology to increase the average productivity of crops such as corn, soybeans, sugar cane and cereals.

Monsanto, meanwhile, is focused on conventional and biotech seeds and last year raised its R&D spending to $1.7 billion from $1.5 billion in 2013.

“There is a clear strategic logic to a deal,” one of the industry sources said. “Syngenta is the only available target in crop protection. It’s no wonder Monsanto continues to circle the company.”

A deal would come as prospects for genetically modified (GM) crops are improving in the European Union after a change in its legislation unlocked a stalled approval process. Monsanto owns the only GM product approved for cultivation in the EU, a modified maize.

Despite the two companies’ cultural affinity, a merger may be challenged by antitrust regulators, primarily in North America, where the two groups are already seen as market leaders in the seeds industry.

Syngenta would need to go through a portfolio clean-up and carve out its U.S. corn and soybean businesses, said a banker close to other potential bidders weighing their options, hoping to derail a deal that would reshape the industry.

Rival suitors?

German chemicals company BASF and U.S. petrochemicals group Dow Chemical could be among possible bidders for all or parts of Syngenta, one of the sources said.

He mentioned Chinese state-owned firm, China National Chemical Corp. (ChemChina), as another possible buyer with strong appetite to bulk up its European presence, though Syngenta may be reluctant to cede control to an Asian rival.

“No one wants to make the first move,” the source said. “Everyone is waiting to see the level of the first bid before reacting.”

Syngenta has not been open for any deal, another source said. “They are a proud Swiss company. They see themselves as market leader and wouldn’t agree to anything without a fight.”

Spokesmen at BASF and Dow Chemical declined to comment, while representatives of ChemChina were not immediately available for comment.

Syngenta, which was formed in 2000 by the merger of Novartis Agribusiness and Zeneca Agrochemicals, also competes with Bayer CropScience and DuPont Pioneer.

— Pamela Barbaglia and Arno Schuetze are Reuters correspondents covering mergers and acquisitions (M+A) from London and the banking sector from Frankfurt respectively. Additional reporting for Reuters by Greg Roumeliotis and Mike Stone in New York and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris.

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