Norway begins hoarding grain again, citing pandemic, war and climate change as reasons

By JAN M. OLSEN

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Norwegian government signed an agreement to stockpile grain on Tuesday, saying the COVID-19 pandemic, a war in Europe and climate change made it necessary.

The contract to store 30,000 tonnes of grain in 2024 and 2025 was signed by Agriculture and Food Minister Geir Pollestad, Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum and four private companies. The wheat, which will belong to the Norwegian state, will be stored by the companies in 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 to store the emergency grain, but they must make the grain available to the state if necessary, the government said.

The Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food stated: “By building up an emergency stock of grain, we want to be prepared for the unthinkable.”

“There should be an additional layer of security in the event of major disruptions in the international trading system or a failure of national production,” said Slagsvold Vedum. “This is an important part of the government’s work to strengthen national preparedness.”

Norway will conclude further storage contracts in the coming years, with the aim of building up reserves by 2029. The aim is to have around 82,500 tonnes of grain in storage by the end of the decade, “so that in the event of a possible crisis situation we have enough grain for the Norwegian population’s consumption for three months,” Pollestad told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

Norway has 5.6 million inhabitants.

Last year, the Scandinavian country announced it would spend 63 million krone ($6 million) annually on grain stocks.

Norway had stored grain in the 1950s, but closed the storage facilities in 2003 after deciding they were no longer needed.

However, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Norway set up a commission to assess the strengths and weaknesses of its emergency preparedness systems, which recommended building up grain stocks.

The oil-rich country, which has supported Ukraine, also hosts the Global Seed Vault on its Svalbard archipelago, about 1,300 kilometers from the North Pole.

Since 2008, gene banks and organizations around the world have deposited nearly a million seed samples in the vault to secure their own collections in the event of man-made or natural disasters.

The Norwegian government financed the construction costs, while an international non-profit organization covers the operating costs.