The global energy crisis is leaving its mark. According to the Swedish Food Industry Association, this primarily means increased transport and packaging costs, which account for approximately one fifth of manufacturers' total costs.
This means that they want to raise prices for their customers, the grocery chains.
"Yes, that's what we can assume. But I don't have any percentages," says Carl Eckerdal, chief economist of the Swedish Food Industry Association.
“Tough negotiations”
He admits the situation is complicated. There is heavy pressure from both the public and politicians not to raise food prices.
There will be tough negotiations between suppliers and grocery chains that will affect consumers and meet public expectations for continued price reductions.
When asked if the food companies are now trying to "talk up" prices, Carl Eckerdal rejects the criticism.
"I'm not talking up either one or the other, I'm just trying to describe what's coming. It's better that there's an understanding among the general public about the situation we're in. There are no food producers who can live on air," he says.
Not increased
The industry has long felt unfairly treated by politicians, the public and the media - that food manufacturers have been making more money while food prices have been skyrocketing.
But the state's own expert authorities, including the Swedish Board of Agriculture, the Swedish Competition Authority, the National Institute of Economic Research and Statistics Sweden, have found in their calculations that the increase in food prices was largely due to external factors and that prices in Sweden have not increased more than in the rest of the EU, according to Carl Eckerdal, who says the food industry is a sector under pressure.
