Economic costs of Swiss agriculture

Since the separation of price and income policies, the economic costs on the supply side of Swiss agriculture have decreased considerably. They amount to about half a billion Swiss francs, which corresponds to 0,15 % of the Swiss net social product in 2002. Compared to the overall costs in Swiss agriculture, the loss of social benefit through redundant production factors is therefore rather small. The emphasis in the discussion about agricultural costs should therefore shift to income redistribution issues.