Norwegians’ sweet tooth saves Swedish export figures
Swedish food exports fell to record lows in the second quarter of the year. But exports to Norway have increased, especially sales of Swedish-produced sweets.
In the second quarter of the year, Sweden’s exports of refined foods, with the exception of tobacco, fish, and unprocessed grain products, fell by 4.5 percent, according to Statistics Sweden (SCB). Of the 20 countries to which Sweden exports the most, exports fell to 13 percent.
– “Since we started keeping statistics 20 years ago, we have never registered a weaker volume development,” says chief economist Carl Eckerdal in the business organization Livsmedelsföretagen.
One bright spot, however, is the exports across the Norwegian border. To Norway, which is Sweden’s largest export market for food, an increase of 9 percent was registered. Swedish-produced chocolate candy is particularly popular, and the increase for this category was as much as 20 percent in the second quarter of the year.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
