Food Prices, Competition and Unfair Trading Practices

The party programme obliges the state to act strategically so that capital does not occupy unreasonable positions of power, and specifically identifies markets with excess profits and poor contractual terms as areas where society should apply pressure. This is the same problem the counter-proposal describes in the wholesale sector. The plan also gives the state a role in sharpening competition and improving conditions for smaller businesses, which is precisely what stricter legislation and a review of ownership concentration aims to achieve.

• break capital's positions of powerdecisive»Staten behöver agera strategiskt för att kapitalet inte ska sitta på« (party programme ↗)“The state needs to act strategically so that capital does not sit on”
• intervene against excess profits and poor terms»övervinster eller dåliga avtalsvillkor kan gemensamt ägda företag« (party programme ↗)“excess profits or poor contractual terms can jointly owned companies”
• better conditions for smaller businesses»investeringar, skärpa konkurrensen och förbättra villkoren för mindre« (party programme ↗)“investments, sharpen competition and improve conditions for smaller”
• small business against large companies»Du som arbetar hårt inom ditt eget småföretag, i konkurrens med storbolag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“You who work hard in your own small business, in competition with large companies.”

The party programme demands effective competition legislation that counteracts monopoly and concentration and states that only rules decided independently of the market can break the development towards private monopolies. The counter-proposal's demands for sharper legislation against unfair trade practices and a review of ownership concentration in the wholesale sector follow directly from that commitment. The programme's requirements for safe food and environmental considerations in the food chain point in the same direction.

• effective competition legislationdecisive»konkurrenslagstiftning ska motverka monopol och koncentration.« (party programme ↗)“competition legislation shall counteract monopoly and concentration.”
• regulation against private monopolies»kan upprätthålla konkurrensen och bryta utvecklingen mot privata monopol.« (party programme ↗)“can maintain competition and break the development towards private monopolies.”
• market's concentration drift»Dess inneboende drift till koncentration och monopol« (party programme ↗)“Its inherent drive towards concentration and monopoly”
• sustainable agriculture and safe food»kraven på ekologisk uthålligt åkerbruk och säkra livsmedel.« (party programme ↗)“the requirements for ecologically sustainable arable farming and safe food.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan wants monopolies and cartels to be prevented so that markets function, and that agricultural policy protects and promotes small-scale farming. Stricter rules against large wholesalers' abuse of power and a review of ownership concentration are measures that strengthen small producers' position in line with this. The plan furthermore emphasizes long-termism over short-term profit interests, which speaks in favor of the counter-proposal's demand.

• prevent market dominancedecisive»Monopol- och kartellbildningar ska motverkas för att skapa fungerande marknader.« (party programme ↗)“Monopolies and cartels should be prevented to create functioning markets.”
• promote small-scale farming»EU:s gemensamma jordbrukspolitik ska inriktas på att skydda och främja småskalighet, biologisk mångfald och miljöhänsyn« (party programme ↗)“The EU's common agricultural policy should aim to protect and promote small-scale farming, biodiversity and environmental considerations”
• vigorous agriculture»Sverige ska ha ett livskraftigt jordbruk i hela landet med god konkurrenskraft.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden should have a vigorous agriculture throughout the country with good competitiveness.”
• long-termism before profit interest»Långsiktighet och balans ska prioriteras före kortsiktiga vinstintressen.« (party programme ↗)“Long-termism and balance should be prioritized before short-term profit interests.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme makes competition a bearing driving force and wants to counteract economic centralization that puts market mechanisms out of play, and the election manifesto wants to dampen prices through freer markets and better competition. The counter-proposal's demands to sharpen rules against abuse of power in wholesale and a review of ownership concentration align with this, as does the commitment to strengthen the green sectors' competitiveness.

• better competition dampens pricesdecisive»Genom att skapa friare marknader och förbättra konkurrensen kan vi dämpa priserna ytterligare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“By creating freer markets and improving competition we can further dampen prices.”
• competition as driving force»Konkurrens är en viktig drivkraft för utvecklingen av marknadsekonomin.« (party programme ↗)“Competition is an important driving force for the development of the market economy.”
• against economic centralization»Ekonomin ska ha givna och förutsägbara spelregler, som« (party programme ↗)“The economy shall have clear and predictable rules, as”
• strengthened competitiveness for agriculture»Vi vill stärka de gröna näringarnas konkurrenskraft.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen the green sectors' competitiveness.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan is explicitly market-liberal but simultaneously establishes that private power can be misused and that market economy requires rules for sound competition, with strong competition legislation. That a few wholesalers exploit their dominance against smaller food producers is precisely such a distortion that the plan wants to counter with rules on competition on equal terms. The plan therefore speaks for tightened rules and a review of ownership concentration.

• rules against private power abusedecisive»Även den privata makten kan missbrukas. Marknadsekonomin kräver spelregler för att upprätthålla en sund konkurrens.« (party programme ↗)“Private power can also be misused. Market economy requires rules to maintain sound competition.”
• strong competition legislation»Därför behövs en stark konkurrenslagstiftning och konsumentlagar som ger rätt till korrekt produktinformation.« (party programme ↗)“Therefore strong competition legislation and consumer laws are needed that give the right to correct product information.”
• competition on equal terms»Lagar och regler ska slå vakt om äganderätt, konkurrens på lika villkor, rättssäkerhet och att enskilda människor har likvärdiga och goda möjligheter att nå sina livsmål.« (party programme ↗)“Laws and regulations shall safeguard property rights, competition on equal terms, legal certainty and the fact that individuals have equivalent and good opportunities to reach their life goals.”
• consumer perspective in food policy»Jordbruks- och livsmedelspolitiken ska ha ett tydligt konsument- och hållbarhetsperspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“Agriculture and food policy should have a clear consumer and sustainability perspective.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme requires effective competition policy that counters oligopoly, monopoly and unfair competition, and establishes that competition restrictions may only occur exceptionally. The plan also places small and medium-sized family businesses at the centre of business policy and sustainable family farms as the basis in Swedish agriculture, which are precisely the producers pressed by wholesalers' dominance. The counter-proposal's requirement for stricter rules against improper trading practices and a review of ownership concentration therefore follows from the plan.

• effective competition policydecisive»effektiv konkurrenspolitik motverkar oligopol, monopol och illojal konkurrens.« (party programme ↗)“effective competition policy counters oligopoly, monopoly and unfair competition.”
• competition restrictions exceptional»Monopol och konkurrensbegränsningar får endast förekomma undantagsvis,« (party programme ↗)“Monopoly and competition restrictions may only occur exceptionally,”
• family farms as the basis»familjejordbruk bör även i fortsättningen vara basen i« (party programme ↗)“family farms should also continue to be the basis in”
• small businesses at the centre»De små och medelstora företagen, som ofta är familjeföretag« (party programme ↗)“Small and medium-sized enterprises, which are often family businesses”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan's stated line toward agriculture and food industry is to support, not control, and to significantly reduce red tape and firms' administrative costs. The counter-proposal's requirement for stricter legislation against business practices and a review of ownership concentration and contract structures means instead more regulation of contractual conditions. The plan recognizes that the state should promote competition, but the decisive commitment is deregulation, not new regulatory tightening.

• support don't control farmingdecisive»Vi ska stötta, inte styra, jord- och skogsbruket« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We should support, not control, agriculture and forestry”
• reduced red tape»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove a third of firms' administrative costs and a third of red tape”
• overregulation hampers growth»Alltför höga skatter och en överreglerad ekonomi har hämmat tillväxt« (party programme ↗)“Excessively high taxes and an overregulated economy have hampered growth”
• the state should promote competition»institutioner, skydda penningvärdet, främja konkurrensen« (party programme ↗)“institutions, protect the value of money, promote competition”

The election manifesto commits to increasing Swedish agriculture's competitiveness and profitability and to increasing measures against the problems farmers face. The party also points out that strict requirements in industry standards and procurement exclude smaller actors, and the party programme supports a regulated market economy. Sharpened rules against unfair trading practices and a review of ownership concentration in the wholesale sector thus align with the plan's goal of strengthening producers' position, even though the plan simultaneously wants to simplify regulations.

• agriculture's competitivenessdecisive»Öka det svenska jordbrukets konkurrenskraft och Sveriges självförsörjning av livsmedel« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Increase Swedish agriculture's competitiveness and Sweden's food self-sufficiency”
• protect farmers»öka åtgärderna mot de problem som lantbrukare drabbas av« (2022 manifesto ↗)“increase measures against the problems farmers face”
• market access for smaller actors»Onödigt stränga villkor i branschstandarder och i upphandlingar gör det ofta svårt för mindre aktörer att slå sig in på marknaden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Unnecessarily strict requirements in industry standards and in procurement often make it difficult for smaller actors to enter the market.”
• regulated market economy»reglerad marknadsekonomi, byggd på långsiktigt tänkande, är för oss självklar.« (party programme ↗)“regulated market economy, based on long-term thinking, is self-evident to us.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.