Norway’s Norgesgruppen, which operates the Kiwi and Meny chains, said that it is maintaining ‘close dialogue’ with its agricultural suppliers, as a severe drought in the country continues.
Import of agricultural products is highly regulated by Norwegian authorities, and Notura, the market regulator, only opens access to imports when access to Norwegian-produced commodities is too small.
Norgesgruppen said that it is in talks with Notura, as well as Tine, a major producer, at ways to alleviate the problem.
Industry Impact
‘The drought is first and foremost serious for Norwegian farmers that are affected,’ Norgesgruppen said in a statement.
‘Our main contribution as a supermarket player is to sell a lot of Norwegian products. We currently do not import beef, and to the extent that the chains run campaigns with beef, it is only with Norwegian raw materials.’
Last week, Norwegian agriculture minister John Georg Dale, said that the government was rolling out a number of emergency measures to help the agriculture industry, such as the removal of high tariffs on hay and straw imports for the livestock sector.
According to Norwegian weather forecasts, the drought the country is experiencing is the worst since 1947.
© 2018 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.
