Food prices have increased by 13.7 per cent compared to the same time last year. In just one month, from May to June, food prices have increased by 2.5 per cent. This is shown by the latest consumer price index (CPI) from Statistics Norway (SSB). A price check carried out by news shows that Nortura, the farmer’s own company, has increased the price of eggs by 9 per cent in the past year. Higher expenses At the same time, Kiwi has raised the price by 77 per cent on its own brand. Medium/large eggs from Eldorado have increased from NOK 1.83 per egg to NOK 3.24 per egg from June 2022 to June 2023. Small/medium eggs from First Price have increased from NOK 2.08 per egg to NOK 2.63 per egg in the same period. This is an increase of 26 percent. – No, that’s madness. We see nothing to that increase. Nothing. That’s what Bernt Bjørnstad says. He runs a farm at Brøttum in Innlandet, where he has around 7,500 hens. He explains that it has also become more expensive to run a farm, and points in particular to concentrate prices, which he says have increased by over 40 per cent in the last two years. – The price of eggs has certainly gone up in that period, but it has not even covered the increased costs in the same period. We have had no wage growth. We have had a wage decline from 2019 to 2023. That is not in line with the rest of society, adds Bjørnstad. It has become more expensive to run a farm in recent years, says egg producer Bernt Bjørnstad. Photo: Arne Sørenes / news – Hårreisende SSB writes in the press release on Monday that the general price increase continues to be at a high level – To put it into perspective. Norges Bank has an inflation target of 2 percent as an annual average. And food prices have increased by over 2.2 per cent in one month, and that comes on top of all the increases that have been there before, says chief economist at Handelsbanken, Marius Gonsholt Hov. Bjørnstad says that it can be difficult for egg sales to cover all expenses on the farm. He himself works full-time on the side, in order to be able to pay the bills. – I think it’s hair-raising. But this is not a new phenomenon here. It is like that in most segments of agriculture, unfortunately. There are some who are making a fortune from this here, and it is not the farmer. Selling at a loss Communications manager at Kiwi, Nora Mile Helgesen, tells news that she understands that it is perceived as a very large price jump, but explains that both Eldorado and First Price eggs have been sold at a large loss for a long period, and that they have therefore felt compelled to raise the price. Communications manager at Kiwi, Nora Mile Helgesen, says that Kiwi sells eggs at a huge loss, and that they therefore had to raise the prices. Photo: Camilla Alexandra Lie / news The reason is, among other things, to avoid having to raise the price of other goods. – We understand that farmers want to be paid what they need and want, and they should get that. It is not something Kiwi decides. The farmer gets paid what we have agreed, and we are the ones who bear the cost of selling the product at a big loss, says Helgesen. She adds that the price the farmer is paid is not necessarily the same as the purchase price Kiwi pays. – We can say that we have not increased the margins. We earn less than we did before, and still sell many eggs at a loss.
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Eggs became 9 percent more expensive from the farmer – Kiwi increased the price by 77 percent – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
