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Why coffee could cost more for Danish consumers in 2022

The price of raw coffee beans recently reached its highest level for ten years, media in Scandinavia report, a trend which is likely to impact consumer prices in the region.

Published: 20 October 2021 13:32 CEST
A photo of coffee beans in Denmark. Consumers in the country may soon notice a higher cost per cup.
A photo of coffee beans in Denmark. Consumers in the country may soon notice a higher cost per cup. File photo: Mathias Svold/Ritzau Scanpix

Raw coffee currently costs more than at any time in the last decade, Norwegian financial media E24 reported on Tuesday.

A doubling of the cost per kilo during the last year, reported by E24 in the summer, has been followed by further increased in recent months. The current price of 37 Norwegian kroner (28.3 Danish kroner) per kilogram is the highest for a decade, the media writes.

That is in spite of a strengthening of Norway’s currency against the US dollar, according to E24. The Danish krone is also currently strong.

Because raw coffee beans are always traded in dollars, with prices set by the New York Stock Exchange a strong exchange rate should theoretically make the beans cheaper to import to Nordic countries.

“I think we are seeing a new normal when it comes to the industrial market price of coffee,” Ola Brattås, head of imports with Norwegian chain Kaffebrenneriet, told E24.

Higher prices have already made an impression on Danish coffee companies.

Markets for the product are currently uncertain, said Lars Aaen Thøgersen, head of communication and development with Peter Larsen Kaffe.

“It’s been this way for some time. There has been uncertainty around the harvest, particularly in Brazil,” Thøgersen told news wire Ritzau.

Drought in Brazil, linked to illegal rainforest logging and climate change, is reported by E24 as a key factor in coffee prices. The International Coffee Organization’s September 2021 report also mentions weather in Brazil.

That has compounded higher transport costs and general uncertainty related to the coronavirus pandemic, he added.

Although companies like Peter Larsen can purchase coffee directly from producers and thereby avoid financial markets, they are unable to avoid knock-om effects of high market values, according to Thøgersen.

“When this happens, all supplies around us are affected. So that naturally also affects our situation,” he said.

That means consumers are likely to also feel the effects at some point down the line, the coffee company spokesperson said.

“Consumers can already feel that prices have gone up now, and it will quite likely also be felt further,” he said.

“But it should also be put into perspective, because if you calculate per cup of coffee, a consumer will only notice a few øre (difference in price),” he also noted.

Supermarket chain Coop, which owns the Kvickly, Superbrugsen and Irma stores in Denmark, is currently negotiating 2022 supplier prices. The outcome of those negotiations is not yet known,” head of information Jens Juul Nielsen told Ritzau.

“How this will be felt on store shelves, we can’t yet say,” Nielsen said.

READ ALSO: Denmark’s energy prices hit highest level for nine years

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DANISH HABITS

What do Danes keep in their fridge to put on rye bread?

Many Danes eat rye bread (rugbrød) each and every day, but while the smørrebrød open-top sandwiches you find in restaurants often feature elaborate toppings, most people take a simpler approach at home.

Published: 27 February 2024 12:27 CET
Updated: 7 March 2024 15:09 CET
What do Danes keep in their fridge to put on rye bread?

A lof of this comes down to the distinction between smørrebrød, which literally means “butter and bread”, and rugbrødsmad, which just means “ryebread food”. 

While the open-top smørrebrød sandwiches are less a dish than a form of cuisine, analogous with sushi in Japan or tapas in Spain, rugbrødsmad is much more informal. 

“Smørrebrød is more exclusive and mainly served in restaurants,” the Danish TV nutritionist Christian Bitz told The Local. “Rugbrødsmad is enjoyed at home with fewer toppings and decorations. It’s also rugbrødsmad that most kids get for lunch in school. It’s prepared by their parents in the morning.” 

READ ALSO: Do Danes really eat rugbrød for at least one meal every day?

While Danes aren’t above dropping a slice of cheese on a bit of rugbrød as a quick snack, Bitz said it was “most often a meal that we eat for both lunch or dinner.” 

If this is the case, it will often include either fish or meat. 

“It’s hard to tell, as the ryebread it self is satiating, but the rugbrødsmadder with high protein are the most filling. That is fish and meat.”

How much time do Danes spend preparing rye bread toppings? 

Few Danes will have tupperware boxes or bowls in their fridges filled with homemade toppings such as hønsesalat (chicken salad), egg mashed up in mayonnaise, or beef tartare. 

“Most of the things we put on rye bread are either bought or made just before eating,” Bitz explains. “Most people don’t make toppings in advance as everything is easily accessible in supermarkets.” 

Home-made pickled beetroots or cucumbers is often the limit when it comes to making toppings from raw ingredients.

“Rugbrødsmadder does not require any fancy topping. Less is more,” Bitz said. “It’s fast and for most of comes with memories from our childhood.

So what do Danes have on hand to put on their rye bread? 

Remoulade. This salad, sauce or condiment is originally French, but Danes are almost certainly the world’s leading consumers, with it going on everything from hot dogs to fried fish. No Danish fridge is complete without a bottle. It typically includes mayonnaise, curry, capers, pickled cucumbers, and other chopped vegetables such as cauliflower or white cabbage.  

A breaded fish fillet with a thick spreading of remoulade, on top of rye bread and butter. Photo: Allan Lundgren/Ritzau Scanpix

Leverpostej. Anyone who isn’t a vegetarian is likely to have a small tin foil tray of liver paté sitting in their fridge, which usually goes on the ryebread topped with pickled beetroots or cucumber. Bitz said this was probably the most popular option for a school lunch. 

Ham or salami. Again, non veggies are more or less certain to have ham in the fridge most of the time. Ham might go on the bread with a slice of cheese and maybe some sliced cucumber or a bit of lettuce. Salami, or spegepølse, can be eaten in much the same way, or else eaten with sliced boiled potatoes. Again, a popular school lunch choice. 

Herring. Danes will often have a jar or two of lightly pickled herring, or marineret sild in the fridge, which they might serve with curry dressing and a sliced hard boiled egg. They might also have a jar of karrysild, where the herring is marinaded in a creamy curry sauce. 

For a more luxurious evening rugbrødsmad, they might coat fresh herring filets in breadcrumbs and then fry them. You can also buy them ready breaded and frozen and either bake them or fry them from frozen like fish fingers.  

Curried herring can be easily spread on rye bread. Photo: Sofie Mathiassen/Ritzau Scanpix

Breaded white fish fillet. Another more luxurious evening rugbrødsmad involves breaded and fried white fish placed on top of the bread and served with remoulade. A typical white fish would be cod, but other cheaper fish are also a possibility. 

Boiled potatoes with fried crispy onions and mayonnaise. This is a classic, very simple rugbrødsmad. 

Mackerel in tomato sauce (from a can). An easy, tasty snack lunch is to just smear some butter on a few slices of rye bread and open a can of mackerel in tomato sauce, which you then just spread over the bread. Danes tend to mash up the mackerel filets a bit rather than lay them out whole. 

Bitz said this was his favourite go-to for a quick evening meal, as it was “super easy and healthy”. 

This particular form of rugbrødsmad shot to the top of the news cycle in early 2021, when Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen included a picture of it in a social media post about an unrelated topic. Observers suggested Frederiksen (or her advisors) may have been attempting to cultivate a down-to-earth image by showing she ate such no-frills food.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Mette Frederiksen (@mette)

Prawns with mayonnaise. This is a Danish classic. Danes will either have the prawns in the freezer or preserved in brine in a jar in the fridge. Typically, you would start by putting a lettuce leaf on each buttered slice of rye bread, then some slices of hard boiled egg, then a dollop of mayonnaise, with the prawns then laid on top. 

Hummus and avocado. This is definitely not a Danish classic, but is a popular option among vegetarian, health-conscious Danes. This is most likely to be made from a tub of supermarket-bought hummus, but some Danes will mash up a can of chickpeas with tahini and some might even soak and boil their chickpeas themselves.

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