The Swiss supermarkets Coop and Globus have said they will be boycotting Russian goods following the Russian state’s invasion of Ukraine. The chains are one of a number of international companies within Switzerland and around the world that have stopped buying Russian products.
A spokesperson for Coop said that “due to the current situation, Coop has decided to stop sourcing food from this country of origin [Russia] for the time being.” Existing stock on the shelves will be sold to avoid wasting food.
The luxury supermarket Globus also declared that it was refraining from making new orders from the country while the conflict is ongoing. The move comes after Switzerland announced it would be imposing sanctions on the Russian Federation, although it must be stated that current sanctions do not include a boycott of Russian goods.
According to Coop, the decision will only affect a few products on the shelves, mainly frozen fish and vodka. Globus confirmed that shoppers in their stores across Swiss cities will start to see no comb honey, beluga caviar or an extensive range of vodkas, which Globus says account for 80 percent of Russian goods sales in its stores.
Among other major supermarkets, there has been more hesitation in imposing a boycott. Aldi Suisse said that it was monitoring the situation for any changes, while Lidl said it will not impose any restrictions as it does not offer any Russian goods in Switzerland. So far, one of the largest supermarkets in Switzerland, Migros, is yet to announce a boycott, with a spokesperson saying that the Swiss government is yet to official impose any rules on importing perishable Russian products.
Migros said that it was following government advice and was observing events closely. The spokesperson noted that "anyone who would like to avoid food from the Russian Federation out of personal conviction can, of course, do so thanks to the transparent declaration of origin printed on the packaging."