Major Danish supermarket company predicts higher food prices this year

Higher energy prices and higher fuel prices this year mean that many people in Denmark are already feeling the pinch.

Unfortunately, food prices look like they are also set to get higher, according to Anders Hagh, the CEO of Salling Group, which owns three of Denmark’s major supermarkets.

“Our unofficial estimate, due to the price hikes our suppliers have announced for the near future, is that we could see an extra increase of one percent to grocery inflation,” he told the Ritzau news wire.

He did not say whether any particular group of items was set to rise more than others, only that prices will rise “broadly” across a number of different products.

The main reason behind the price hikes, he said, is war in the Middle East pushing up the price of energy.

Oil prices have risen drastically, which makes it more expensive to produce and transport many products.

Salling Group is also directly affected by the cost of diesel used to transport groceries.

Hagh said that negotiations between Salling Group and suppliers will be “good, but difficult”.

“Of course, there are some price hikes which are justifiable as a result of the higher oil prices we’re seeing at the moment, but we need to be sure that this is the only reason prices are going up,” he said.

He added that the company will “take on its own share” of increased oil prices rather than passing them on to consumers, but that some costs should be covered by suppliers, and some by consumers.

Last year, Salling Group had a turnover of 83.2 billion kroner, up 15.2 percent on last year.

This is partly due to the domestic market, but also due to growth in the Polish market, where Netto is present, and the acquisition of Rimi Baltic, which made the company one of the largest grocery suppliers in the Baltic region.

After tax, its profits were around two billion kroner, a rise of around 300 million kroner when compared to 2024.