Potato farmer Leif Johann Rugsland has grown potatoes for several years on the farm in Birkenes. Now he is worried about whether he will be able to sell his potatoes in the future. The case in summary • Potato farmers in Norway fear that production will be moved abroad if import protection is not increased.• Import protection for potatoes has been locked at 1 kroner and 12 øre per kilo since 1994, which the farmers believe is too low.• In 2020, Norway imported almost 60,000 tonnes of potatoes, and the Farmers’ Association is disappointed that the government has not prioritized increased import protection for potatoes in the proposal for the state budget.• Agriculture and Food Minister Geir Pollestad believes the current import protection is good enough, but says they will consider a separate subsidy for the production of industrial potatoes against the agricultural negotiations in the spring. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. He believes the import protection for potatoes is too low. It will protect Norwegian production of meat, vegetables, fruit and berries from foreign competition through its own tariffs on these goods. This means that whoever imports such goods must pay more for the goods. Leif Johann Rugsland is a potato farmer. Now he fears foreign competition could threaten Norwegian potato production if import protection is not improved. Photo: Leif Dalen / news The duty on potatoes has been fixed at 1 kroner and 12 øre per kilo since 1994, the farmer points out. – It was worth something in 1994. In 2023 it is not worth that much because inflation has eaten up that protection, says Leif Johann Rugsland. – The knife on the throat Last year, 376,000 tonnes of potatoes were grown, figures from Statistics Norway show. According to figures from the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy (NIBIO), Norway will import almost 60,000 tonnes of potatoes in 2020. The farmers’ association is disappointed that the government has not prioritized increased import protection for potatoes in the proposal for the state budget. – The potato producers have a knife at their throats. They are dependent on higher customs protection on imported potatoes, says Knut Erik Ulltveit. He is the leader of the Norges Bondelag in Agder. Knut Eril Ulltveit is head of the Farmers’ Association in Agder Photo: Leif Dalen / news Ulltveit points out that the government has set a target of 50 per cent self-sufficiency in the Hurdal platform. – Then we are dependent on higher customs duties on imported meat and potatoes, he says. Considering new subsidy Agriculture and Food Minister Geir Pollestad (Sp) believes, on the other hand, that the current import protection is good enough. – But in the run-up to the agricultural negotiations in the spring, we will look at a separate subsidy for the production of industrial potatoes to ensure that the potatoes for the industry are Norwegian in the future, he says to news. Tommy Christensen is specialist manager at Sørlandschips. Photo: Leif Dalen / news Sørlandschips has been making chips from Norwegian potatoes since 1990. But due to variations in the climate, there are not always enough potatoes to count on. Ideally, they should only use Norwegian potatoes as far as possible. – It is no secret that Sørlandschips, like its competitors, has a reserve reserve contract in Denmark since there is no free market for that type of potato in Norway, says specialist manager Tommy Christiansen. Fears increased imports Nils Ove Gillund is chairman of Gartnerhallen, one of the country’s largest suppliers of fruit, berries, vegetables and potatoes. He also believes that something should be done about import protection: – It is absolutely critical. We may end up in the situation where we are not competitive with foreign production, so that production is moved out of the country, and there will only be imports. Nils Ove Gillund is chairman of Gartnerhallen. Photo: Leif Dalen / news Potato farmer Leif Johann Rugsland says it helps that the krone is currently weak. But he fears that they will struggle when the krone rises: – If you can get a product for half the price in Denmark – why should we choose Norwegian, he asks.
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Believes low import protection can threaten Norwegian potato production – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
