World Grain - December 2007 - 22

COUNTRYFOCUS

markets," he said. "It's difficult to compete with France and the other big exporters on the world market. This year
with the world market the big issue has
been risk management. This is a totally
new situation."
Higher prices have meant increased
risk. "It's the biggest question for both
farmers and grain dealers," he said.
"Several of my members had never used
the MATIF (Marche A Terme International de France) for hedging before this
year."
He identified a political consensus
about the future of farm policy, which
meant that much of his organization's
lobbying of the Swedish government
was limited to detail work. "We know
what the government is coming for in
the CAP," he said. "It isn't affected by
the change of government. Both the left
and the Conservatives are quite focused
on deregulation. When it comes to lob-

bying in the grain sector, it's about the
details."
MILLERS UNDER PRESSURE

The purchasing power of the big
retailers means the Swedish milling
industry is under constant pressure to
achieve greater cost efficiency, said Peo
Crona, divisional director in Lantmännen's milling division. "With prices up
by 50 percent in the last year, some of
the companies in the industry are really
suffering," he said. "The dependence
of some mills on low-margin business
like private label makes increased costs
hard to absorb.
"We also have to keep up new product
development to stay ahead of consumer
trends. There's an increasing move towards healthier products, as well premium and niche products and greater
convenience. The industry has also been
affected by demand for low-carb diets."

After a period of consolidation, the
industry has achieved a stable structure, particularly when compared with
the milling industry in some other E.U.
countries, Crona said. "The last time
a mill closed in Sweden was in 2001.
There are ten milling companies in operation. Although there are some strong
regional players, the only two companies
with full national coverage are Lantmännen, which is by far the biggest, and
Valsemöllan/Finax.
"Lantmännen's share of the bakery
flour market is still growing. We currently account for 50 percent of sales,
10 percentage points more than in
WG
2000."
Chris Lyddon is World Grain's European editor. He
may be contacted at: chris.lyddon@ntlworld.com.
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World Grain - December 2007

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