Norwegian butter crisis

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A plate of Norwegian butter served on Norwegian Constitution Day
Traditional Norwegian Christmas cookies called julebrød or julekake (raisin bread as Christmas bread / cake) cut into slices and coated with butter.

The Norwegian butter crisis began at the end of 2011 with an acute shortage of butter and an increase in butter prices on the Norwegian markets . Because of the acute shortage, prices rose and butter stocks in supermarkets were sold out shortly after new deliveries. The Danish tabloid BT described the situation in Norway due to the lack of butter as smor-panic ( butter panic ).

Shortage

Heavy rains during the summer affected the grazing of the cows and reduced milk production during the summer by approximately 20 million liters, which was reflected in increased butter prices. Meanwhile, demand grew rapidly: 20% more sales in October 2011 and another 30% in November. An acute shortage resulted in rapidly increasing prices. In mid-December 2011, a single 250 g pack of imported Lurpak butter cost 300  Norwegian kroner (the equivalent of 39 €, as of January 5, 2012).

The shortage persisted due to high import tariffs on butter, which were intended to protect the domestic dairy industry from foreign competitors. In fact, 90% of the butter sold in Norway was locally produced. The dairy industry was expecting a deficit of 500 to 1000 tons, while the demand for butter has increased by 30% since 2010. The food company Tine was accused by the dairy farmers of not having informed them about the higher demand quotas and of exporting butter to other countries despite the looming national shortage. Tine produced 90% of Norwegian butter in 2011 and was also the largest milk cooperative and market regulator in the country.

reaction

In response to the growing criticism, Tine asked the government to lower import tariffs to meet the shortage with cheaper imports from neighboring countries. The government then reduced the import duties for butter by 80% by the end of March 2012, i.e. from 25 Norwegian kroner (converted about 3.22 €, as of January 5, 2012) to 4 Norwegian kroner (converted about 0.51 €, as of: January 5, 2012) per kilogram. According to a Tine spokesman, however, despite the change, it is unlikely that large stocks of butter would become available before January 2012. There were calls to reform the Norwegian state monopoly as a consequence of the butter crisis. The structure of the dairy industry was created after World War II to keep prices high, thereby protecting small farms. According to the critics, however, this is de facto a monopoly that has failed to meet customer needs.

The crisis generated a variety of responses from individuals and organizations in Norway and neighboring countries. A Norwegian newspaper tried to attract new subscribers by offering half a kilo of butter as a bonus. Students auctioned butter on the Internet to fund their graduation parties. Some people were caught trying to smuggle butter across the border while Swedes ran online advertisements offering Norwegians butter at a price of up to 460 Norwegian kroner (around € 59, as of January 5, 2012) per package to deliver. Danish dairy businessman Karl Christian Lund tried to increase the demand for his own butter by handing out thousands of packages in Kristiansand and Oslo . Swedish supermarkets offered free butter to Norwegian customers to lure them across the border to shop. On the Swedish side of the south-eastern borders of Svinesund , supermarkets reported sales of butter 20 times higher than normal, with nine out of ten buyers being Norwegians. A Danish television program broadcast an “emergency call” asking viewers to send butter. 4000 packs were collected and distributed to Norwegians. Danish airports and ferries crossing the strait between the two countries kept stocks of butter in their duty-free shops.

aftermath

Due to the butter crisis, Norwegian retailers lost an estimated sum of 43 million Norwegian kroner (around € 5.5 million as of January 5, 2012). The Norwegian Progressive Party demanded that Tine compensate retailers for their losses.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Audrey Andersen: Butter shortage puts the knife into Norwegian Christmas plans. In: The Guardian . December 14, 2011, accessed January 5, 2012 .
  2. ↑ Silla Bakalus: Norge i smør-panik: Sælges for 600 kroner kiloet på nettet. In: BT December 5, 2011, accessed January 5, 2012 (Danish).
  3. ↑ Norway butter shortage: 'margarine is just not the same'. In: The Daily Telegraph . December 14, 2011, accessed January 5, 2012 .
  4. ↑ Jesper Kirkbak: Et kilo smør cost nu over 1000 kroner. In: BT December 11, 2011, accessed January 5, 2012 (Danish).
  5. ↑ Kjetil Malkenes Hovland: Norway: Embarrassed By Butter Shortage. In: The Wall Street Journal . December 19, 2011, accessed January 5, 2012 .
  6. ^ A b c Spreading butter crisis forces cut in import tax. The Scotsman, December 15, 2011, accessed January 5, 2012 .
  7. ↑ James Langton: Norwegian butter crisis churns up Christmas shortages. In: The National. December 17, 2011, accessed January 5, 2012 .
  8. ↑ Norway butter crisis spreads as nation consumes entire stock. Metro, December 14, 2011, accessed January 5, 2012 .
  9. ↑ Nina Berglund: Calls rise to bust butter 'monopoly'. newsinenglish.no, December 8, 2011, accessed January 5, 2012 .
  10. ↑ Nils Myklebost: Norwegians battle butter shortage in peak season. Associated Press , December 14, 2011, accessed January 5, 2012 .
  11. ↑ Kjetil Malkenes Hovland: As National Butter Shortage Bites, Norwegians Get Churning. The Wall Street Journal , December 19, 2011, accessed January 5, 2012 .
  12. ^ David Charter: A bitter search for butter. (No longer available online.) In: The Times . December 14, 2011, formerly in the original ; Retrieved January 5, 2012 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.ottawacitizen.com
  13. ↑ Kim Ode: Brother, could you spare some smor? In: Star Tribune . December 19, 2011, accessed January 6, 2012 .
  14. ↑ Karin Olsson: No butter in Norway? Swedes will enjoy Christmas even more. In: The Guardian . December 18, 2011, accessed January 6, 2012 .
  15. ^ Richard Orange: Swedes arrested for butter smuggling. In: The Daily Telegraph. December 19, 2011, accessed January 6, 2012 .
  16. ↑ Audrey Andersen: Butter shortage takes the biscuit in Norway. In: The Irish Times. December 20, 2011, accessed January 6, 2012 .
  17. ↑ Swedes in Norwegian butter smuggling bust. In: The Local. December 19, 2011, accessed January 6, 2012 .
  18. ^ Olaf Mellingsater: Prices spike as butter shortage spreads through Norway. CNN, December 13, 2011, accessed January 6, 2012 .
  19. ^ A b FrP Requires Tine to Pay for Butter Crisis in Norway. March 12, 2012, accessed September 3, 2015 .