Latest news with #NorwegianCompetitionAuthority
Local Norway
11-04-2025
- Business
- Local Norway
EXPLAINED: Three reasons why food prices in Norway are so high
Not only is food in Norway already among the most expensive in Europe, but it's also rising in price rapidly. Food prices have risen by 8.6 percent over the past twelve months, with some foods like chocolate experiencing a particularly sharp rise, according to inflation figures from Statistics Norway. A new report on the grocery industry by the Norwegian Competition Authority, the government agency responsible for promoting competition, has pointed to a number of reasons why food prices in Norway are so high. The report outlined that weak competition in the grocery sector meant that supermarkets could charge more than they otherwise would. According to the report, Norwegians bought around 95 percent of their food from one of the three major chains – meaning Coop, Rema and Norgesgruppen have almost the entire market to themselves. In its report the authority pointed to three obstacles which hindered competition in the grocery market as it made it hard for new chains to establish and offer customers lower prices. Among the obstacles was import protection. Norway has a number of high tariffs in place to protect Norwegian agriculture. The protectionist measures apply mainly to meat and dairy products. For example, the tariff on beef is 344 percent, while the tariff for cows milk is 443 percent. The competition watchdog has previously said the current protectionist measures needed to be reassessed, while public broadcaster NRK recently reported that the removal of tariffs could lead to food being about 20 to 30 percent cheaper . Advertisement Import protection was the biggest barrier to better competition in the grocery sector, the watchdog said in its report. 'We have import protection that is intended to protect Norwegian farmers and Norwegian agriculture. But it also effectively protects Norwegian suppliers and grocery chains,' Beate Berrefjord, director of the Norwegian Competition Authority, said. Furthermore, the process to import foods that aren't subject to tariffs was difficult, according to the watchdog. This makes it difficult to bring cheap food into Norway. It also favours the larger chains that have far more staff available to deal with the red tape. Meanwhile, new entrants to the grocery market are effectively blocked from being able to find suitable premises. The big chains have used negative easements, which set limits on what a property can be used for, in order to block off potential locations for competitors. Despite this practice no longer being allowed, the Norwegian Competition Authority reported that the biggest chains seemed to have found a way around the ban.
Local Norway
28-03-2025
- Business
- Local Norway
What are Norway's food tariffs, and how do they affect grocery prices?
What are tariffs? Tariffs are taxes and charges on imported products. Tariffs make food more expensive by increasing the cost of imported goods for suppliers, this is then passed onto consumers. Furthermore, it ensures Norwegian producers can command higher prices without facing competition. The reason why Norwegian producers charge more is due to the high overheads for food production in Norway compared to other countries. Examples of foods which Norway has tariffs on includes meat, dairy, and cheese imports. Fruit, vegetables, cereals and ready-made products are also subject to tariffs. These tariffs can significantly increase the cost of foods. For example, the tariff on beef is 344 percent, while the tariff for cows milk is 443 percent. Why the competition authority has criticised tariffs The Norwegian Competition Authority has said that tariffs on foreign foods needed to be examined due to their effect on supermarkets' competitiveness. 'Customs cannot remain untouched,' Beate Berrefjord, director of the Norwegian Competition Authority, told public broadcaster NRK . 'Tariffs on food are the biggest obstacle to improving competition. We don't want Norwegian agriculture to die, but customs protection has remained untouched for many years. Now it's high time to make adjustments,' Berrefjord added. Public broadcaster NRK reports that half of everything sold in Norwegian supermarkets was affected by various protectionist measures. 'We have to be honest: Tariff walls affect competition. It is a political question whether it is okay to weaken competition to protect agriculture. But we would like to see people open to changes for the sake of competition,' Berrefjord said. Associate professor of economics Ivar Gaasland at BI Bergen recently told the public broadcaster that removing import protections would lead to food being about 20 to 30 per cent cheaper . Berrefjord said that while tariffs protect farmers, suppliers and grocery chains were also protected from competition that could drive down prices. Advertisement The argument for keeping tariffs Geir Pollestad, former agriculture minister and MP for the agrarian-focused Centre Party, said that tariffs were important for food security. 'Food production is also a security policy and emergency preparedness. Here, supervision goes far beyond the task at hand,' Pollestad said in reference to the competition authority's views on tariffs. Politicians in Norway have long wanted to ensure that the sale of Norwegian food remained high and Norway's agriculture industry remained viable to ensure food security. The more food Norway is able to produce, the more self-sufficient it remains.
Local Norway
13-02-2025
- Business
- Local Norway
Norway gives green light to controversial train firm merger
The merger process was supposed to begin at the turn of the year, but it was held up by the Norwegian Competition Authority, which ruled on Wednesday that there was no basis to halt Flytoget from becoming a subsidiary of state-owned Vy. 'After an overall assessment of the case, we have concluded that there is insufficient evidence that the merger significantly impedes effective competition and that there is, therefore, no basis for intervention,' Vegard Aandal-Nilsen from the Norwegian competition authority said. The watchdog looked into the merger as Vy and Flytoget are the only rail firms offering services between Drammen and Oslo Airport. As a result, the authorities were concerned that the lack of competition would lead to increased prices and worsened service. A completion date of 2028 has been set for the merging of the two state-owned train firms. When the merger was proposed last year, transport minister Jon-Ivar Nygård said passengers would eventually be able to use tickets across the same services. Under current rules, travellers with Vy cannot use their tickets on Flytoget services and vice versa, even though both companies stop at several of the same stops and use the same lines. Tickets for Vy's services from Oslo to the airport are currently around 100 kroner cheaper than Flytoget's and can be bought via the Ruter transport app, but these services also take around 10 minutes longer to get to the airport from the city centre. Norway's government has argued that merging the two firms would increase capacity for trains in and out of Oslo without building new infrastructure. However, union officials working in Flytoget, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise, and opposition parties such as the Conservative Party and the Progress Party have been critical of the merger.
