The debate post expresses the writer’s opinions.
The market regulation for eggs, as it is designed and enforced today, does not work. We don’t need long political investigations to establish that. If you are really in a hurry to bake that cake, you can even find eggs at Finn.no.
Last week the news came that Rema 1000 imports eggs to save the 17 May breakfast. It goes without saying that if the chains start with their own imports to get the people enough eggs, then we have managed to get a system on the side of the system.
That is hardly a sign of a well-functioning system.
Market regulation of eggs is, to put it mildly, not a simple system. Explained simply, the purpose is to ensure that the market is in balance, without over- or under-production. This is to secure the farmer’s income, as well as give consumers access to eggs.
Through the turnover tax, the scheme is financed by the farmers themselves. Nortura fulfills the role of market regulator, and they have both a reception and a limited supply obligation. This means that they cannot refuse to accept eggs that are produced, and they must supply us independent operators with eggs in accordance with the regulations.
- Read up on the matter here:
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The situation has further worsened
In 2023, Den Stolte Hane only received 65 percent of the eggs we ordered from the market regulator. The consequences of the underdelivery have seen consumers with ailing shelves for a long time. If we look at the year so far, the situation has further worsened.
Let’s take March 2024 as a concrete example, where we received only 24 percent of the eggs we ordered. In other words, it’s no wonder that this year’s Easter egg hunt went from store to store.
It is also not in the consumers’ best interest that the scheme makes it difficult for us challengers to compete on equal terms.
Agriculture Minister Geir Pollestad (Sp) has held meetings with the industry and wants to find a solution. Nortura is the market regulator through Nortura SA, but Nortura is also by far the market’s largest supplier of eggs. There are clear structural challenges in that the market’s largest player also has responsibility for balancing and supplying the market.
Our message to Pollestad is clear; The system is overdue for change.
Just the start
We have recently been involved in a case against Nortura SA in the Oslo district court, which we lost. The case concerned access to eggs when there are too few eggs in the market. In situations where there is an undersupply of eggs in Norway, the duty is reduced. Then the market regulator or the industry itself must import eggs, so that they can be used, for example, in cake mixes and mayonnaise.
We believe that it is Nortura that must import these eggs, or Rema’s 17 May solution will only be the beginning.
It is the political wish that we should be self-sufficient in eggs in Norway. For this, we need to put in place an independent body that takes care of the role of market regulator. Such a body naturally falls under the Directorate of Agriculture. Norwegian consumers want scrambled eggs on 17 May, made with the world’s best eggs. We don’t have to stir that much to make it happen.
