– I’m going to buy meat, cheese and energy drinks that the young people are so fond of, she smiles and nods at her son and daughter who are involved in today’s cross-border trade. Renu Kristin Kvalfors takes a bus from Trondheim to Storlien to shop for what she needs for Christmas. The bus travels to the Fjellhandel shopping center. Here, passengers can shop for goods at Swedish prices for two hours before it returns to Trondheim. Renu doesn’t have a car, so the bus trip is her opportunity to cross-border shop. – I can take the public transport in Trondheim, but it’s something else to get out for a walk, she says. Renu appreciated quality time with the family on a trip to Sweden. Photo: Mirja Flodin / news Border trade with quality time The shopping basket is slowly but surely filled with everything from energy drinks to Christmas ham. She shops for herself and her five children, so there are often quite a few items when she first starts. Although it costs NOK 200 for the bus trip, she thinks there are still kroner to save on the action. – It will be quite a few thousand, actually, she says. She has taken two of her children with her on the shopping trip, and points out that the trip is not just to chase Swedish prizes. – We also do it because it’s a family trip, not just for the shopping. Meat is something many people trade with them across the border. Photo: Hannah Solberg-Wåtland / news The old days are over Even if the trip saves her some money, border trade is not like it used to be for Renu. – There is no longer as big a difference between Norwegian and Swedish prices as there was before. Then there was much more to save on the trip to Sweden, says Renu. From October 2021 to 2022, prices increased by 17.2 per cent in Sweden. In Norway, prices increased from November 2021 to November 2022 by 12.7 per cent. In the past, Renu has taken more impulsive shopping trips to Storlien. – Now we save a little together for a few months before we move and rather do a wholesale deal, she says. Seeing an increase in the number of customers Markus Rølling has been store manager at Eurocash Storlien for the past year. With Christmas just around the corner, there is no doubt that the number of customers is increasing. Markus Rølling is store manager at Eurocash Storlien. Photo: Hannah Solberg-Wåtland / news – Lately we have had a lot going on. We expect a lot of Christmas food shopping in the next few weeks, he says. He has been with Eurocash since 2007, then at Svinesund. When the pandemic happened, he started as an employee at Storlien. – During the pandemic, it was quiet in the corridors. In the third quarter now, we have sold much more than we did before the pandemic. He points out that there are only Norwegian customers in the store, apart from the few tens of people who live in Storlien. – We get more and more customers all the time. We meet new customers almost every day. Ida Myrvoll also wanders along the shop shelves. She has made the trip all the way from Møre and Romsdal to cross-border trade. Fjellhandel Senter had to postpone the opening day when the pandemic was a fact. Photo: Mirja Flodin / news – Right now the prices are much higher in Norway. Then it might be worthwhile to take the trip to Sweden. She points out that the long journey will result in NOK spent on tolls and fuel. – In the long run, you will save something on it anyway. And then it’s really nice, she says. Nevertheless, she has also noticed that the trade is not as cheap as it used to be in the neighboring country. – Before, you wasted a little more when you were shopping in Sweden. Now I look more at the prices and compare them with Norwegian ones, she says. Renu and the family brave the freezing temperatures for cross-border trade. Photo: Hannah Solberg-Wåtland / news
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Still popular with cross-border trade, even though the price of food has also risen in Sweden – news Trøndelag
