Food prices – Broccoli for trouble

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Had the broccoli Did I fall for hate, or did it just make itself expensive, 177 percent more expensive in half a year? The problem for broccoli is that it does not benefit from making itself expensive. It risks destroying the relationship. I took a trip to Extra, but the situation was the same there, NOK 25 for a broccoli. It felt like a betrayal, not to say a conspiracy.

Now it has to is added that the broccoli has no free will. The price is determined by Rema, Extra and Kiwi, who add what they think is appropriate, after the supplier and farmer have received their share. The price increases officially come twice a year, in February and July, after the chains’ negotiations with suppliers such as Orkla, Bama, Tine and Nortura.

Several media outlets mark these increases by purchasing a selection of items before and after the date. When Nettavisen did this work earlier this summer, they found a wide range of percentage increases on the thirty or so items, but for all three chains the overall shopping basket had a price increase of around 17 per cent. Broccoli stands out, but when minced meat and butter rise by more than 20 per cent, many people were probably surprised.

You might be wondering also on why all three chains’ shopping baskets increased by 17 percent, but that is another conspiracy debate. As everyone has noticed, inflation has skyrocketed. The consumer price index for June gave us a price increase of 6.3 per cent over the past year. The price jumps in raw materials, electricity and fuel have increased the costs of producing food, and this is taken out in higher prices. Food prices have increased by 5.7 per cent in the past year, but from May to June the increase was 2.0 per cent. This is an unusually large increase in June, Statistics Norway reports, since price jumps tend to occur in February and July. We can only look forward to the July figures arriving in mid-August.

The last six months both food chains and suppliers have worked to soften us consumers, so that the price increases do not come as a shock. They have talked about wheat, sunflower oil, fuel and power prices. It is a state of emergency, they can report, and they see no other option than to “pass on” the extra costs to their customers.

Dagens Næringsliv was recently able to report that Odd Reitan and his two sons took out one and a half billion in dividends in 2021. The Reitan family owns Rema, and together with Norgesgruppen and Coop they dominate the grocery industry. Every year, the chains make handsome profits of billions. During the pandemic, things have gone extremely well.

This is the backdrop when I stand there at Rema, surrounded by ripe vegetables that continue to grow in price. The broccoli resembles a green brain. I hold it in front of me: To buy, or not to buy, that is the question.

When the prices rise, I start to discuss with fantasy figures. First with the vegetables and the other goods that have been attacked by “burnt” inflation. Then with the cheerful woman at the checkout at Rema. I ask if it is possible to haggle. She looks at me quizzically, so I say that since Rema has “passed on” the cost increase to me to keep their profit margin, could I possibly pass some of the price increase back to Rema? She replies that she is not the one who sets the price. I ask if she has Odd Reitan’s number. “Whose?” “Forget it,” I say, pulling out the Visa card.

It is not so often you get Reitan and the owners talking. When journalists wonder why the price of apples has gone bananas, the answer usually comes from a director of communications and public relations, preferably via e-mail, since answering specific, critical questions directly is rarely profitable for the food chains. They prefer to answer in general terms about how hard they are working to keep prices down.

But as a fantasy character, Reitan is always available. So I call him and ask what’s up with the price of broccoli. He answers a little evasively at first, and says that he is not so “hands on” these days. I tell him that the broccoli has become increasingly expensive. It has risen by 177 percent since last winter. Could I push some of this cost back to Rema?

Reitan says I have misunderstood how this works. What I can do, he says, is to ask my employer for a pay rise. He asks where I work. I answer:

“Let’s say I work at the till at Rema.”

“Er…you say so, yes.”

“Is it possible to ask you directly? About a pay rise, I mean. Once I have you on the line, lissom.”

“Yes, why not, I’m a jovial type”.

“Lovely. Then I would like to have a salary increase corresponding to the 17 percent that the shopping basket increased by over the turn of the month in July.”

“17 percent? Are you crazy?”

“Or I can ask for 177 percent, so-called broccoli supplement.”

“Dude, now I’m getting another phone call here.”

I expect that Reitan and I will have another chat when the price increase for July is announced in a couple of weeks.

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