Mass storage of cereals is being carried out by the Norwegian government to protect the country from possible events that could break supply chains or cause large price increases for basic foods.
The government has signed an agreement with four private companies to store 30,000 tonnes of grain in 2024 and 2025. The agreement stipulates that the grain will be owned by the Norwegian government and stored by the companies at existing facilities across the country. Three of the companies will store at least 15,000 tonnes this year.
“Companies are free to invest in new facilities and decide for themselves where they want to store emergency grain, but they must make it available to the state if necessary,” the government said. The Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food explained the measure by saying that “storing grain means preparing for the unthinkable.”
The objective is to store around 82,500 tonnes of cereals by the end of the decade “so that we then have enough stock for three months of consumption for the population of Norway in a crisis situation that may arise”, stated the Ministry of Agriculture.
When explaining this measure, government circles in Oslo mentioned a series of possible scenarios, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, a possible war in Europe or climate change. After all, hoarding grain is an ancient strategy that was historically applied when dark clouds appeared on the horizon.
52 billion for defense
Norway’s parliament has already decided to drastically increase the defense budget, ordering six submarines from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, worth 5.5 billion euros. The Norwegian government wants to invest a total of more than 52 billion euros in the country’s defense over the next 12 years.
“There should be an extra layer of security in case of major disruptions to international trade systems or failure of domestic production,” said the country’s finance minister, Slugvolt Vendum. “This is an important part of the government’s work to strengthen national sovereignty,” he added.
“The Ten Plagues of Pharaoh”
“This agreement is as if Pharaoh’s 10… wounds are about to reach Europe,” write Norwegian newspapers about the mass storage of cereals. But Norway is one of those countries that knows how to prosper through wise decisions, achieving great consensus and positive results, as the management of the country’s oil resources has also demonstrated. Norway, with a population of just five million, has the fourth highest per capita income in Europe.
Although Norway is rich in oil and natural gas, the country has diversified its economy to include sectors such as fisheries, hydropower, technology and high value-added industry.
The most successful policy was the creation of the Norwegian Sovereign Fund, with assets exceeding 1.3 billion dollars. This Fund, fed by oil revenues, has been managed in a prudent and transparent manner, ensuring long-term financial stability. Since the discovery of oil in the North Sea in the 1960s, Norway has implemented strict policies to manage these resources. The creation of the Sovereign Fund in 1990 allowed oil profits to be invested in the country’s future.
Rare Lands
Norway has found a “vein of gold” by discovering a huge rare earth deposit southwest of Oslo, in the Telemark region. As announced by the mining company Rare Earths Norway, this is a deposit that contains a total of 8.8 million tons of rare earths. Of this total, around 1.45 million tons contain the elements neodymium and praseodymium, which are important for wind energy and electric cars. The company estimates that 10% of European demand for rare earths could be met from this deposit. “This deposit is without doubt the largest deposit of rare earth metals in Europe,” says geologist Sven Dahlgren.