Cost of Living: Why food prices in Norway are still rising so much
Steep food price increases were on the agenda on Thursday as government ministers met with key figures from the supermarket industry to discuss the cost of the weekly shop skyrocketing.
On Thursday, Norway's Minister of Trade Jan Christian Vestre and Food Minister Sandra Borch met with key figures from Norway's supermarket industry to discuss steep increases in food prices.
Grocery prices in Norway have increased by a whopping 11.5 percent since 2021. Meanwhile, the consumer price index (CPI), which measures inflation overall, rose by 5.9 percent between December 2021 and the same month last year.
The future isn't looking any brighter for consumers either, as grocery chains and suppliers have warned of price hikes of up to ten percent from February.
This is because Norway's grocery sector makes wholesale price changes twice a year, once in February and once in July.
The government has said that it wants to make the grocery sector aware of its responsibility towards consumers and to ensure that profits aren't being prioritised over customers.
"That (food price increases) worries us. It is very important that the grocery industry is aware of its social responsibility and ensures that prices to consumers do not increase more than absolutely necessary," Vestre said in a government press release.
Norway's Consumer Council recently told The Local that grocery prices are increasing as supermarkets pass on costs to their customers.
"Definitely. They will probably say they are trying to cut costs, as higher prices affect competition. But mostly, they pass the costs on (to consumers)," Olav Kasland of the Consumer Council said.
READ MORE: Are Norwegian supermarkets being greedy with their price increases?
However, Norgesgruppen, one of the biggest players in the supermarket industry, has denied this is the case.
"There's hard competition in the Norwegian retail market, and all our shops compete daily. We can't pass on all the price rises to our customers – that's why you can see our profitability going down.
"Our annual results for 2022 are not out yet (they will be by the end of March), so I can't go into it, but what I can say is that we've experienced higher costs in every area of business - energy, transport, fuel, it's all affecting our business," Kine Søyland, the chief of communication at Norgesgruppen explained.
Runar Hollevik, CEO of Norgesgruppen, told public broadcaster NRK on Thursday that the talks with the government were constructive.
"No (we didn't get a scolding). I think both are worried about the situation we are in. Nobody benefits from having the explosive growth in costs. So we shared information and agreed that this was job number one," he told NRK.
Norgesgruppen has previously told The Local that inflation and higher energy, transportation, commodities, and raw material costs had increased supermarket prices. This is in addition to suppliers also putting up their prices.
Suppliers have previously said that their overheads are also increasing for a lot of the same reasons, leading to price increases along the supply chain.
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On Thursday, Norway's Minister of Trade Jan Christian Vestre and Food Minister Sandra Borch met with key figures from Norway's supermarket industry to discuss steep increases in food prices.
Grocery prices in Norway have increased by a whopping 11.5 percent since 2021. Meanwhile, the consumer price index (CPI), which measures inflation overall, rose by 5.9 percent between December 2021 and the same month last year.
The future isn't looking any brighter for consumers either, as grocery chains and suppliers have warned of price hikes of up to ten percent from February.
This is because Norway's grocery sector makes wholesale price changes twice a year, once in February and once in July.
The government has said that it wants to make the grocery sector aware of its responsibility towards consumers and to ensure that profits aren't being prioritised over customers.
"That (food price increases) worries us. It is very important that the grocery industry is aware of its social responsibility and ensures that prices to consumers do not increase more than absolutely necessary," Vestre said in a government press release.
Norway's Consumer Council recently told The Local that grocery prices are increasing as supermarkets pass on costs to their customers.
"Definitely. They will probably say they are trying to cut costs, as higher prices affect competition. But mostly, they pass the costs on (to consumers)," Olav Kasland of the Consumer Council said.
READ MORE: Are Norwegian supermarkets being greedy with their price increases?
However, Norgesgruppen, one of the biggest players in the supermarket industry, has denied this is the case.
"There's hard competition in the Norwegian retail market, and all our shops compete daily. We can't pass on all the price rises to our customers – that's why you can see our profitability going down.
"Our annual results for 2022 are not out yet (they will be by the end of March), so I can't go into it, but what I can say is that we've experienced higher costs in every area of business - energy, transport, fuel, it's all affecting our business," Kine Søyland, the chief of communication at Norgesgruppen explained.
Runar Hollevik, CEO of Norgesgruppen, told public broadcaster NRK on Thursday that the talks with the government were constructive.
"No (we didn't get a scolding). I think both are worried about the situation we are in. Nobody benefits from having the explosive growth in costs. So we shared information and agreed that this was job number one," he told NRK.
Norgesgruppen has previously told The Local that inflation and higher energy, transportation, commodities, and raw material costs had increased supermarket prices. This is in addition to suppliers also putting up their prices.
Suppliers have previously said that their overheads are also increasing for a lot of the same reasons, leading to price increases along the supply chain.
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