The Norwegian Food and Drink Industry

1. The NorwegianFood and Drink Industry Norsk Landbrukssamvirke

2. An Important Industry • The Norwegian food and drink industry plays a central role in the Norwegian food chain and is a large contributor to the total value added in Norwegian industry. • The Norwegian food and drink industry is the second largest industry in the country: • it accounts for 23 percent of the total industrial production value • it employs 18 percent of the total industrial work force • it has almost 15 percent of all industrial companies • In large part the Norwegian food and drink industry uses Norwegian raw materials from agriculture and fishing to make its processed products. Most of these, with the exception of fish, are then sold on the domestic consumer market. Source: Norwegian Agricultural Economics Research Institute

3. In total, the 46 500 employees in this industry produced food and drink for approximately NOK 173 billion in 2009. • About 18 percent of the added value (measured in gross product) in Norwegian industry comes from the food and drink industry and it amounted to NOK 36.2 billion in 2009. Source: Norwegian Agricultural Economics Research Institute

4. Diverse Industry: • The Norwegian food and drink industry is an industry that features everything from large corporations listed on the stock exchange and co-operatives with many thousand employees, to sole proprietorships with a small scale production at the farm. • In 2008 there were approximately 1 400 companies in total in the Norwegian food and drink industry. • Companies in the food and drink industry are generally larger than those in other industries and they employ on average 34 persons. • The companies are spread around the country, which is partly the result of political goals for the rural areas. Source: Norwegian Agricultural Economics Research Institute