Norwegian food and beverage representative group NHO Mat og Drikke has said that tackling cross-border trade in Sweden represents a 'golden opportunity' for the government to retain jobs and boost income.
The group conducted a survey of Norwegian consumers, which found that two thirds (67%) believe that Norwegian tax rates should be set to the same level as in neighbouring countries, to ensure that crossing the border to shop in Sweden is less attractive.
Job Losses
Some 68% of those surveyed said that they felt cross-border trade leads to the loss of Norwegian jobs and income, with different regions showing varying levels of agreement: in Østfold, 52% agreed that cross-border shopping affected jobs, compared with 76% in Hedmark, situated north of the capital, Oslo.
According to NHO Mat og Drikke, border trade increased by 4.1% between 2017 and 2018, with Norwegian consumers spending NOK 15.7 billion outside the country. The rate of cross-border trade has been steadily increasing in recent years, as the table below shows.
The group said that the main reason behind this growth is due to specific taxes on products such as chocolate, confectionery, non-alcoholic beverages, beer, wine and spirits, which make the production and sale of Norwegian food and drink products 'significantly more expensive', than in Sweden.
Appropriate Measures
NHO Mat og Drikke added that while there is widespread agreement among political parties that border trade is an issue, there are differences between the parties as to whether a reduction in taxes is an appropriate measure to deal with the issue.
Conducted in association with Ipsos, the survey took in responses from 1,000 Norwegian citizens, as well as 1,800 elected officials in municipalities and county councils.
NHO Mat og Drikke, part of the Norwegian Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO, is one of the groups behind an initiative known as Grensehandelsalliansen, or Border Trade Alliance, which seeks to reverse the trend of increased border trade and loss of value creation, jobs and tax revenues in Norway.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
