Grocery, Rema | Rema owner Ole Robert Reitan on the food crisis: – It will be a challenge
BJØRVIKA, OSLO (Nettavisen): Ukraine is one of the world’s largest producers of cereals and very large in sunflower production. Since the war has put an end to food exports, it is becoming a challenge for the rest of Europe.
Watch video: Reitan about the food crisis in Norway and Europe
Ole Robert Reitan says that the preliminaries do not experience a shortage of goods, nor of cereals. But it can quickly turn around.
– As we experience it today, there is no shortage of cereals. But there are clear indications that it is going to be a challenge, especially on cooking oil and some grains. We see no problems with procuring goods so far, and then we must do everything we can every day to secure the supply, Reitan says to Nettavisen.
Also read: The Ukraine war will lead to changes in Norwegian foods: – There will be challenges with sunflower oil
– Leads to increased prices
Netavisen met Reitan on Tuesday evening, where he and several other business leaders lined up for an investor event under the auspices of DNB Invest.
– We must make sure that we keep as many supply lines as possible open. Ukraine is a huge sunflower producer, and sunflower oil is an important input factor for both food and feed. We now notice that the button leads to increased prices and problems with access. That’s what we know most about the body right now, Reitan during the event.
He tells Nettavisen that so far they have not pressed anything.
– There is no reason to be worried that there will be poor supply in advance, but we will follow the situation, he says.
Read also: Dramatic consequences for cereals and bread: – It can be very serious
Rationings
Although there is still a good supply of food in Norway, as Reitan points out, our neighboring country has introduced rationing on vegetable oils. In April, Danish Rema 1000 introduced rationing on sunflower oil.
– Ukraine is one of the largest manufacturers of sunflower oil. The war has meant that we get fewer deliveries, and even though we are not sold out, demand is rising worldwide and for other oil products, says Jonas Schrøder, communications manager at Rema 1000 in Denmark to the Danish newspaper Finance.
Read also: Grocery giant struggles with raw material supply: – Completely empty until October
Ukraine accounts for close to 50 percent of world sunflower production and Russia close to 30 percent. The war therefore has a major impact on the world’s access to vegetable oils.
At the beginning of the war, it was reported that the workers at Kernel had left the factories to report for war.
Kernel is the world leader, and Ukraine’s largest, producer and exporter of sunflower oil. The company is a major supplier of agricultural products from the Black Sea region to international markets. Kernel exports its products to more than 80 countries in the world.
Other European countries, besides Denmark, have also introduced rationing on sunflower oil. This applies to Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom, among others.
Indonesia, on the other hand, has a temporary ban on palm oil exports because of a lack of domestic supplies of cooking oil and sky-high prices.
Read also: Disaster alarm: – We have a food price crisis