They are employees in an industry that receives a lot of criticism. They get slammed for high prices, both in the checkouts and along the shelves. Handel og Kontor demands more transparency in the food industry, the union organizes around 39,000 employees in grocery stores. – I am happy that the government wants to investigate the grocery industry. I don’t understand that prices should increase much twice a year in the way they do now, says Christopher Beckkam, head of the Trade and Office Confederation. A new, sharp increase in the price of food is expected on 1 February. Recently, the government announced that it is asking the Norwegian Competition Authority to investigate the large price jumps and whether there is illegal collusion. – It is not good that the grocery chains own the entire production line, at the same time we see every Christmas and Easter that they dump the prices. This affects earnings and leads to them having to raise prices again, which in turn creates uncertainty for jobs in the industry, Beckham continues. Photo: Ilja C. Hendel / © Ilja C. Hendel – A few rich families He believes it is now about the credibility of the food industry. He wants to know where the profits end up. He is critical of the power of the big three – Reitangruppen, Norgesgruppen and Coop. – It is not an ordinary merchant, it is a few families, a few shareholders, some of Norway’s richest, who get this. It is not right that the consumer should give wealth to people, it must be done in a different way, says Beckham, who hopes the Norwegian Competition Authority’s investigation leads to concrete regulations. On Kapital’s list of Norway’s richest, there are several from the grocery industry far up. The profits of the three largest players were large in 2021. Coop’s annual profit for 2021 was NOK 499 million, Rema 1000 Norway had NOK 1.2 billion. It was also very solid for the Norwegian group. The big food giants warn that profits will be smaller for 2022. – We don’t understand where the money goes. It is not Norwegian farmers who earn more, it is someone who earns the money in the value chain, we have to find out where that is, says Beckham. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news – Less profit than the industry The industry association Virke is happy about the investigation that will take place. But the director of consumer goods, Bendik Solum Whist, does not agree with the opinions of Trade and Office. – Virke has looked at the grocery chains’ and industrial companies’ profit reports in 2022. While the industrial companies Orkla, Tine and Nortura have had increased revenues in 2022, the grocery chains have seen a decline. Altogether, the grocery chains had a 2.2 per cent margin last year, while the industrial companies had between 7.6 and 9.6 per cent. The industry thus has over three times as high margins, says Solum Whist. He does not agree that the grocery chains own the production chain – It is not so that the grocery chains “own the entire value chain”. The dominant players in the industry are the cooperatives, i.a. Tine and Nortura on dairy and meat. The co-operatives not only have dominant positions in their markets, they also have the role of market regulator and can determine access to products and price trends. Solum Whist adds that the authorities already have access today. – The Norwegian Competition Authority has the opportunity to inspect the agreements between suppliers and retail chains, so they can follow the competition situation, says Solum Whist. Trade and the office request a meeting with the Minister for Business on the matter.
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– Don’t understand where the money goes – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
