Last week, Norway’s largest producer, distributor and exporter of dairy products,Tine proposed to
increase tariffs on foreign brands’ white cheese that can compete with Tine products Jarlsberg and Norvegia, to secure the market
for Norwegian cheeses.
This happened despite the fact that
Tine’s sale of real cheeses
increased significantly last year. Sales of Norvegia increased by 10.3 percent and
sales of Jarlsberg by 14.5 percent. Total revenue of Norvegia exceeded 1.7 billion NOK.
The proposal upset the Danes
The proposal upset the Danes, according to Norwegian daily Aftenposten. If Tine’s proposal is accepted, it will lead to duties
on Danish cheeses to increaseup to 260%, writes business.dk
And this will particularly affect the Danish farmers. The Danes have namely the half of the
Norwegian cheese imports, according to the newspaper.
Chief executive officer
in the Danish Farmers’ Union Landbrugs & Food Products Kristian Svendsen in the interview to Berlingske
Nyhedsbureau says it is all about preserving and protecting the
agricultural structure in Norway, where there are many small farms.
– Norwegian farmers have “only” ten cows, but will still drive Mercedes, says
Svendsen.
He doubts, however, that the proposal will go through in Norway. He has still been in contact with the
Norwegian Foreign Ministry and asked them to keep an eye on it.
– Ministry of Foreign Affairs are usually more reasonable than the Ministry of
Agriculture in Norway, he said.
He doubts, however, that the proposal will go through in Norway. He has still been in contact with the
Norwegian Foreign Ministry and asked them to keep an eye on it.
– Ministry of Foreign Affairs are usually more reasonable than the Ministry of
Agriculture in Norway, he said.