Tine competitor Q-dairies loses a subsidy of NOK 50 million annually. Now they fear that the milk monopoly is on its way back.
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Until now, the Q dairies have received a subsidy through the so-called price equalization scheme, which is intended to prevent dairy giant Tine from having a monopoly in Norway.
Parts of this support will now lapse after the Norwegian Directorate of Agriculture decided on 5 October that the Q dairies are no longer entitled to subsidies for distribution. From 1 November, both Q and Rørosmeieriet will lose the subsidy, writes E24.
According to the Q dairies, the cut for them amounts to NOK 50 million annually. In comparison, the company had an operating profit of NOK 140.9 million in 2020.
– With this demonstration of power, there will be higher prices, less innovation and less diversity in the stores. It is the consumer who will be the big loser, says Kristine Aasheim, chairman of the board of Q-dairies and CEO of the owner company Kavli Norway, to E24.
She describes the cut as “completely critical of the existence of the Q dairies”.
Tine points out that it is the Norwegian Directorate of Agriculture that has come to the conclusion, and says they do not want to restore more dairy monopolies in Norway.
(©NTB)
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