Customers at the Obs store at Mariero in Stavanger think the kilo price for pork chops is already high. – The prices were very high, but that’s how it has become with all food products, says a slightly disappointed Terje Håland, who looks out over the various varieties of skewered meat in the store. Prices vary from just under NOK 200 to almost NOK 500 per kilo. But this year’s price increase for store customers was unavoidable, according to Coop. – We see that prices have risen. Both the agricultural settlement and increased energy costs affect our producers. This means that the products delivered to us have become more expensive, says regional director Dag Ove Aksland in Coop Vest. Missing the electricity price Butcher Fatland has almost half the market for pine meat in this country. In the same way as other butchers, twice a year they can price their products to their customers, who are the large retail chains. This happens on 1 February and 1 July. Sales director at Fatland Salg, Reinert Horneland, admits that they failed to predict the electricity price this autumn. Sales director at Fatland, Reinert Horneland. Photo: Privat Strømprisen is included in the calculation basis for how much they should charge. – There have been huge cost increases which we have taken out in our price increases. But with regard to the electricity price, we have not been able to predict how high it would be. On average, we missed by 1 kroner on average per kW/h, says Horneland. Even more expensive next year This year’s kilo prices for pork chops could thus have been much higher if the butcher’s company had used the actual electricity price that hit Southern Norway as a basis. The average price so far this year is over 232 øre per kW/h. And it doesn’t look any better for next year. – Prices for Christmas food will continue to rise next year. When we calculate the prices for next year, we have taken as our starting point the average price for electricity in 2022. We have no other choice. Unfortunately, this means that the prices for pork chops and cured meats, which require a lot of electricity to produce, will also go up next year, says Horneland. Can’t cover increased costs At the butcher’s shop Gabbas in Stavanger, there is full production of pork chops. This year, the traditional butcher’s shop will produce 20 tonnes. But it is an expensive production. A lot of electricity is required in the drying process, in contrast to other meat products that mostly just need to be cut up and packed. General manager Einar Jørgensen at the butcher’s shop Gabbas in Stavanger produces 20 tonnes of stick meat this year. They have had to raise the price per kilo to cover increased costs. Photo: Gunnar Morsund / news – I would assume that the price increase for pork chops this year is between 15 and 20 per cent due to increased costs, says Einar Jørgensen, general manager at Gabbas. But despite the price premium Gabbas has felt obliged to make, they still come out poorly. – In Rogaland, we are heavily burdened with increased and unpredictable electricity prices. If we have increased the prices somewhat, we will not be able to recover the increased costs. It’s sad, but that’s the way it is, says Jørgensen. Buying the cheapest pork chops In the store in Stavanger you can buy pork chops for less than NOK 200 per kilo. – It’s the pork chops on sale that customers choose now, says Grete Zetterstrøm at Obs at Mariero. Regional director Dag Ove Aksland at Coop and Grete Zetterstrøm at the Obs shop at Mariero in Stavanger see that customers choose the cheapest options when buying pork chops for Christmas dinner. Photo: Gunnar Morsund / news The regional director must also note that customers do not choose the most expensive variants. – We see that it is this pork chop that sells the most, says Aksland, and picks up a package of Coop’s own pork chop, the alternative for under NOK 200 a kilo. The price is important to the customers, and those we meet in Stavanger cannot afford the most expensive items. – We are quite a large family, so we have to buy quite a few kilos. It’s not just one kilo with us, so then the price matters, says Turid Hana Lie. – I feel sorry for those who can only stand here and look at the prices, and do not have the opportunity to enjoy themselves a little at Christmas. They have forgotten that, those who rule the country, says Terje Håland.
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The pork chop should have been more expensive – it will be worse next year – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
