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The Seafood council requests subsidy cuts for beef

meat beef steak bankruptciesMedium rare beef steak. Photo: Pixabay.com

Norwegian Seafood council chief, Robert Eriksson, wants “fair play” in the refrigerator and asked the government to cut the subsidies on beef by 20%.


According to Dagbladet newspaper, Eriksson, who is the director of the Seafood council, believes that there are logical shortcomings in the food policy when the government subsidises the beef herd production while at the same time they want Norwegians to eat less red meat.

‘’First, a negative distortion of competition is created. Second, the government uses people’s tax money to make it cheaper to eat more
climate-friendly food,’’ said Eriksson, adding,

‘’Why should the state subsidise the meat they want us to eat less of?’’

In a letter of intent between the industry and the Norwegian authorities, among other things, it is stated that work will be done to increase seafood consumption by 20% by 2021.

‘’Then it does not work to continue to subsidise the entrecote by NOK 70 per kilo,’’ said Eriksson and added that he is proud to belong to a
subsidy-free industry.

He did not receive support from the head of the industry committee, Geir Pollestad, who believes what Eriksson is proposing creates a conflict between the two industries.

‘’I almost refuse to believe that the industry is behind his extremely little strategic statements. Is it even possible to understand that a person thinks something so stupid? But I doubt that the whole industry does so,’’ he said.

Norway’s farmer’s union did not want to comment on the case to Dagbladet newspaper.


© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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