On Thursday, Swedish government leaders will talk with big food companies about high food prices that are making people upset. In February, food prices went up by 3.9% compared to the same month last year, the highest rise in two years, according to official numbers. An independent site, Matpriskollen, reported that grocery prices jumped by 19.1% over the past two years.
This increase has led to a social media campaign asking people to boycott Sweden’s main grocery stores this week to push for lower prices. In the Skärholmen neighborhood of Stockholm, locals shared how hard it is to afford basic items. Markets and small stores selling Eastern and African foods are becoming popular because they often have cheaper prices.
A 79-year-old woman, Hayedeh, said prices keep going up daily, mentioning that milk went up a little more each day, and nuts now cost 350 kronor per kilo, which is shocking! Dairy products have seen some of the biggest price jumps, with butter up by 26% in a year.
The Finance Minister, Elisabeth Svantesson, and Rural Affairs Minister, Peter Kullgren, will meet with major supermarket chains like ICA, Coop, and Axfood, which make up 90% of Sweden’s grocery market. They want to hear what the companies think and work together to lower prices.
Last year, the head of the Swedish Competition Authority, Rikard Jermsten, reported that consumers are paying more for food than they should because of not enough competition in the market. Food companies claim that problems like the Covid pandemic, the Ukraine war, and inflation are reasons for the high prices.
One man, Bogdan, 37, shared that he stopped smoking to afford food because prices went up so much while his salary stayed the same. He said, “It’s not okay.”
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