Norwegian butter crisis

The Norwegian butter crisis began in late 2011 with an acute shortage of butter and a price increase in butter prices on the markets in Norway. Due to the acute shortage prices and Butter Inventories rose in supermarkets were sold out shortly after new supplies. The Danish tabloid B.T. described the situation in Norway due to the lack of butter as Smor - panic ( panic butter ).

Shortage

Heavy rainfall during the summer influenced grazing of cows and reduced milk production during the summer by about 20 million liters, which was reflected in increased butter prices. Meanwhile, the demand increased rapidly: 20 % more sales in October 2011 and a further 30 % in November. An acute shortage resulted in soaring prices. Mid-December 2011 the cost of a single 250 - g package of imported Lurpak butter 300 Norwegian Kroner (equivalent to € 39, effective 5th January 2012).

The scarcity stopped due to high import duties on butter, which should protect the domestic dairy industry against foreign competitors. This meant that 90% of Norway butter to be sold had to be produced at home. The dairy industry was expecting a deficit from 500 to 1000 tons, whereas the demand for butter since 2010 increased by 30 %. The food company Tine was accused by the dairy farmers to have them not informed of the higher demand quotas, which means this, despite the threat of domestic shortage, too much butter exported. Tine produced in 2011, 90 % of Norwegian butter and was also the largest dairy cooperative in the country and market regulator.

Reaction

In response to the growing criticism Tine asked the government to reduce import tariffs to address the lack of cheaper imports from neighboring countries. The government lowered then the import duties on butter until end of March 2012 by 80 %, ie from 25 Danish Kroner ( equivalent to approximately € 3.22, as of 5 January 2012) on four Danish Kroner (equivalent to about 0.51 €, Stand: January 5, 2012 ) per kilogram. According to a Tine spokesman, however, is unlikely despite the change that large butter inventories are available before January 2012. There were calls then to reform the Norwegian state monopoly as a consequence of the butter crisis. The structure of the dairy industry was created after the Second World War in order to keep prices high, which means that small farms should be protected. According to the critics, this is a de facto monopoly, which foundered on meeting customer needs.

The crisis produced a variety of reactions by people and organizations in Norway and neighboring countries. A Norwegian newspaper attempted to gain new subscribers by offering a pound of butter as a bonus. Students auctioned on the Internet butter to finance their closing parties. Some people were caught when they tried to smuggle butter across the border, while Sweden switched online advertising in which they offered Norwegians butter at a price of up to 460 Norwegian kroner ( about 59 €, effective 5th January 2012) per package to deliver. The Danish businessman Karl Christian Lund tried to increase the demand for its own butter by handing out thousands of packets in Kristiansand and Oslo. Swedish supermarkets offered free butter for Norwegian customers to entice them to shop across the border. On the Swedish side of the south-eastern borders of the Svinesund supermarkets reported a twenty times higher than normal sales of butter, with nine out of ten buyers were Norwegians. A Danish television program beamed a " flash appeal " from to send the audience asked butter. Here, 4,000 packages were sent, which were distributed to Norwegian. Danish airports and ferries that crossed the strait between the two countries, held butter stocks in their duty-free shops.