– Everything has become much more expensive. And when you have minimal income and are single, it has become much tougher, says Line Mokleiv.
She is a single mother with two sons. And have noticed that the price of food has gone up.
– I think a lot of food has become too expensive lately, says Mokleiv.
She believes it is a win-win situation to switch to the food she needs.
– I get rid of things I don’t need. And then maybe I’ll get milk or minced meat back.
Things from the kitchen are exchanged in two large milks.
Photo: Rosa Irén Villalobos / NRK
Line Mokleiv says many of her friends do the same.
– It is much easier to exchange something than to use a 100 note when the economy is tight, she says.
Food cravings increase
Rita Leinan created a swap circle on Facebook four years ago. It quickly became popular. In recent months, she has seen that more people are changing their food products.
– When we started, people exchanged a bag of coffee or other things. Now I see that a lot of people want to switch to food they need on a daily basis, says Leinan.
Many people exchange food for themselves in the Haugaland exchange circle, where Rita Leinan is the administrator.
Photo: Odd Rune Kyllingstad / NRK
On the site, clothes are exchanged for minced meat, household items for milk and books for wheat flour.
– It is probably quite clear that the increased food prices are the reason, says Rita Leinan.
She encourages people to clean out their closets and trade away what they no longer need.
Seems to blame the war
The price of food and non-alcoholic beverages has also increased over 7 per cent from September last year to September this year. This is shown by figures from Statistics Norway.
Virke writes in an e-mail to NRK that after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine there have been large cost increases in the entire value chain for food.
– And we share the concern over the right-wing price increase, writes industry director for groceries, Bendik Solum Whist.
Bendik Solum Whist is branch director for groceries in Virke.
Photo: Work
He adds that in the grocery sector there is tough competition between the store chains.
– This has contributed to food prices increasing less in Norway than in the EU in the past year, writes Whist.
He cannot say anything about future prices for groceries.
– But in recent months, we have seen that food price inflation has started to slow down. We hope this trend continues.
The government will clean it up
The government believes it is important to have good competition in the grocery market to ensure Norwegian consumers the best possible selection at the lowest possible price.
– That is why we are now carrying out historically many measures in the grocery industry. This will have an effect over time, says Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre (Ap).
Among other things, they have tackled the practice where grocery players notified each other of price increases through the media. The industry has now changed its practice.
In addition, the government has strengthened the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Norwegian Competition Authority. They have also launched surveys to see who benefits the most from the price increases.
Photo: Eskil Wie Furunes
– I get sad when I hear about people in our country who are struggling to make ends meet. Our whole part of the world is unfortunately experiencing strong cost growth, which affects those who have the least, says Vestre.
He believes it is important that the community supports it. Vestre points to new figures recently showing that inflation continued to fall.
– It is good news for families and businesses, and it shows that the economic policy is working.
Vestre nevertheless believes that the competitive situation in the grocery market is not good enough.
– There are still too few and too large players, which means that Norwegian consumers probably have a poorer selection at a higher price, says the minister.
2023-10-30 09:10:45
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