Only Brazil exports more coffee than Switzerland. How did a small country, where the climate makes it impossible to grow coffee, become the world’s second-largest coffee exporter? It is a story that also has its dark chapters. Switzerland has achieved something economically that defies all logic. With an export value of around CHF3.3 billion ($4.2 billion) in recent years, the small country is only just behind Brazil in terms of coffee exports, but ahead of giants such as Colombia, Ethiopia and Vietnam – all countries that grow coffee and supply the beans that are roasted in Switzerland. The local industry generates good margins with this processing. According to the Swiss Trade Monitor of the University of St Gallen, coffee beans (known as green coffee) are imported into Switzerland for around $5 per kilogramme. When they leave the Swiss roasting plants, they are worth $26.80 per kilo. This enormous increase in value makes coffee Switzerland’s most important agricultural export today.