The Norwegian tariff jump on potatoes is unlikely to be felt this autumn

Norwegian consumers have had to put up with more expensive potatoes in the past year. The potato price in July was a whopping 28.7 per cent above the price at the same time last year, according to Statistics Norway.

From 1 September, a percentage duty has been introduced on potatoes, a tax that has been controversial. The critics believe it will cause Norwegian potato prices to skyrocket even higher. The fee is calculated based on a percentage of the product price instead of a fixed krone rate being required. The purpose of the customs duty is to protect Norwegian production.

Heavy duty jump

A kilo of German potatoes, which now sell for around NOK 2.50 per kilo, costs around NOK 7 with tax and shipping, while the Norwegian farmer gets NOK 6.45, according to the Norwegian Directorate of Agriculture. With the previous krone customs duty rate of NOK 1.12 per kilo, the import price would have been NOK 4.62 per kg. The increase is around 50 per cent.

But as very little potatoes are usually imported at this time of year, the customs change will for the time being have little effect on Norwegian consumers, according to section leader Espen Kristiansen at Statistics Norway.

– If imports follow a normal pattern, we are, so to speak, self-sufficient from September to January. A new duty rate will probably only be felt when imports pick up, usually in March/April, with a new peak in May/June, he tells NTB.

So far this year, around 38,000 tonnes of potatoes have been imported into Norway. This is more than the two previous years, but most came between April and June. The reason for the strong increase was the failure of the crops last year, particularly due to the storm Hans. As a result, there was less in stock this spring than normal.

Israel-import ned

The harvest of potatoes is in full swing in the EU, the directorate states.

– Despite the sometimes difficult harvest conditions, there is currently a fair balance in the potato market in the EU. The future price development will depend, among other things, on how much damage the floods in Europe have done to the crops. This is currently unknown, they emphasize websites.

Norway imports potatoes from several countries. 38 percent have come from Denmark so far this year. Behind them come France and Great Britain. Imports from Israel have decreased significantly from previous years, while they have increased from Spain, Finland and Lithuania.