It is not just customers who get Norwegian onions and potatoes for NOK 30-40 per kilo. When county leader Morten Tømte of the Farmers’ Association went to the local Coop shop today, he found Norwegian potatoes for NOK 41 a kilo. – I have never seen that before. Before I saw French small potatoes at that price, now we see it on Norwegian potatoes. It is a far cry from what the farmer gets, says Tømte to news. HOT POTATOES: At Coop, the new potatoes cost NOK 41 per kilo for the brand from the farmer’s producer, while the own brand is sold for NOK 26 per kilo. The first new potatoes tend to cost more than later in the season. Photo: Yann Valerievich Belov / news Five times higher than in the EU Even the top of the Bondelag, who is himself a grain and potato farmer, receives NOK 14 per kilo for the potatoes in the crop, which are of such quality that they can be sold in grocery stores. The price of potatoes is helping to raise food prices in Norway, which were 4.9 per cent higher in June than at the same time last year, according to Statistics Norway. The price increase is more than five times as high as in the EU. But the price the farmer receives has also increased. The farmers have had two strong agricultural settlements last year and this year. – How much is the farmers’ responsibility that the price of potatoes in Norway has risen by 29 per cent? – It is not a large part of what is the farmer’s responsibility. Absolutely not. I want to strongly refute that is the situation that the farmers are experiencing now, says Tømte. PROMISING CROP: Morten Tømte shows many potatoes on each plant. Customers should not pay too much for them, according to him. Photo: Yann Valerievich Belov / news Employees in the shops are also surprised The LO trade union Trade and Office says employees in the shops are critical of the price jumps. – The three major players, Norgesgruppen, Coop and Reitan, can raise prices when the three major players have a monopoly. Our members ask themselves: Where does the profit go? asks Elisabeth Sunde in Handel og Kontor. – How can you know that the money ends up with the grocery chains and is not the result of costs needed in the production chain? – If you ask the food chains, they probably have explanations for why the prices are higher. I refer to the figures which show that the three big chains have been making a profit in recent years. The three big players have a monopoly in the market and can raise prices without us consumers having anything to say, she says. DOUBLE PRICE: When news checked prices on Thursday, loose Norwegian onions also cost over NOK 40 per kilo. Last summer, onions cost around NOK 20 per kilo. Photo: Anders Eidesvik / news Now both Handel og Kontor og Tømte want more transparency about how prices are set in stores. Tømte calls the prices “unreasonable”, and is afraid that Norwegian food will be priced out of people’s wallets. – Here there are several stages in between that should have their profit, but we feel that the last stage takes out a far too large profit, says Tømte. Found unchanged margins, but high profitability In Norway, Coop, Rema and Norgesgruppen have almost the entire Norwegian market. The fact that the competition is so weak that grocery stores can cheat on customers has also been claimed by politicians in the past. Last year, the Støre government asked for a margin study from the Norwegian Competition Authority. The inspectorate checked the profitability from the farmer to the goods in the shop. This spring, the conclusion was clear: the grocery stores did not charge extra to take advantage of the price shock in the wake of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. But the inspectorate pointed out that profitability is very good for the grocery stores. This is in stark contrast to the fact that the chains themselves say that the competition for customers is fierce. Then one would expect lower profitability in order to lure customers with lower prices than the competitor, according to the inspection. The inspectorate did not check the price increases in the past year. Pointing to low margins and increased expenses Coop, Rema and Norgesgruppen nevertheless refer to the report to reject the accusations from the Farmers’ Association and Trade and Office. The stores respond via e-mail. – Our price increase has been somewhat lower than growth in the general grocery industry. Our economic model has always been low margins, low costs and high volume, which the recently published report to the Norwegian Competition Authority shows, says Colum O’Farrel, head of price and analysis at Rema. Communications advisor Kine Søyland in the Norgesgruppen emphasizes that prices are rising due to real price and cost increases. – The chains do not buy these goods directly from the farmers, so the price is determined by other links in the value chain, she says, and continues: – We generally have very low margins on Norwegian agricultural products, and we are also not the ones who set the price the farmer receives for his goods. . Communications advisor Kine Søyland in the Norgesgruppen. Photo: Privat In Coop, communications director Harald Kristiansen also points to increased expenses. – Our margins are still low and clearly lower than the margins on the supplier side. The customers can be confident that Coop, which is owned by the customers, does not charge more than we have to. Communications director Harald Kristiansen at Coop. Photo: Reidar Gregersen / news news has asked everyone how the competition can be strong when, among others, Norgesgruppen and Reitan have stable profits over time, as the supervisory authority points out. No one has answered the question. MAYBE CHEAPER THIS AUTUMN? In both Europe and Norway, the harvests are expected to be better this year than last year. Then the potato crops in Norway failed in particular, and the shops had to import foreign potatoes earlier than usual this year. The scarcity led to increased prices, according to Virke handel. This year’s crops speak for better prices for consumers. Photo: Yann Valerievich Belov / news Published 11.07.2024, at 21.05
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– Far away from what the farmer gets – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
