Swedish farmers have initiated the intensive work coupled with spring sowing while they continue to adapt to the challenges and consequences of the COVID-19 crisis
Large autumn sowing, export restrictions and strong global demand are a factor that affects this year’s harvest. The prospects look good for a normal size harvest in Sweden, but as always, the actual harvest ultimately depends on the weather.
During the entire COVID-19 pandemic, food supply has worked very well in Sweden and farmers as well as Lantmännen are continuously working to ensure that the food value chain remains robust
Olof Nyman, group president and CEO at Lantmännen, said, “Secure deliveries of seed and feed to farmers and food to customers and consumers in and around Sweden and the world are a key issue for Lantmännen. We continuously strive to strengthen the grain value chain and create more robust flows and added values for both farmers and consumers, for example by investing billions in grain reception facilities, processing industries and export infrastructure. These are strategically important investments, not just for Lantmännen and Swedish farmers, but for the Swedish food supply and society in general.”
Swedish farmers are adapting their production to the market, linked to both price changes and trends, and have been able to match the fluctuations in demand that constantly occur.
Johannes Åkerblom, Arable production manager at Lantmännen, said, “The spring sowing is smaller than normal this year. This is a trend we have seen for several years now, as there are several advantages of a large autumn sow. Proven not the least by last years record sized autumn sowing. Autumn sown crops are more robust and higher yielding than spring sown crops, which bodes well for a normal size harvest this summer. Farmers and Lantmännen have now done what we have been able to, based on our extensive expertise and it is now the weather that will determine the size and quality of the harvest.”
Grain is an international market and prices are generally higher than usual. This is primarily due to increased chinese consumption and imports, but also to export restrictions from Russia, poorer weather in Latin America that mainly affects the harvest of soy and corn. There has also been increased demand for vegetable oils from China, which affects the price of rapeseed, which in turn, is good for the Nordic countries.
