Intense Debate Over Food Prices: V Party Threatens to Break Up Ica

A heated debate over food prices erupted between Ica's vice CEO Fredrik Söderberg and Vänsterpartiet leader Nooshi Dadgostar when they met on Expressen's stage at Almedalen. Now, the Left Party leader threatens to break up Ica.

"We must intervene if prices do not decrease," says Dadgostar.

High food prices were on the agenda when Fredrik Söderberg, vice CEO of Ica, and Vänsterpartiet's leader Nooshi Dadgostar met on Expressen's stage at Almedalen on Friday afternoon. Soaring food prices have been a hot topic this spring, and Dadgostar participated in a viral boycott against Ica and other food giants.

The debate was intense, with Nooshi Dadgostar's message to Ica being clear.

"Lower the food prices."

The V leader argues that Ica has created a private monopoly that they are abusing.

"The competition in this market is not working. If it were, food prices would be significantly lower. Swedish food prices have increased more than in many other countries precisely because we have a lack of competition in Sweden," says Dadgostar while criticizing Ica's profits.

"You have record profits while the economy is struggling and households are becoming poorer."

Ica: "We Are Not Making Record Profits"

Something that Ica's vice CEO Fredrik Söderberg claims is not true.

"We are not making excess or record profits. Ica Sweden's result in real terms is the lowest since 2014. Ica has 26 billion in gross profit, that's true. But beneath that comes the cost mass. So don't throw those numbers around. We take a huge responsibility for food prices," says Söderberg, claiming that Ica is working hard to lower food prices.

"We are doing everything we can to push back prices. And we have lowered prices as much as possible," he says.

Threatens to Break Up Ica

Nooshi Dadgostar then expressed a threat to break up Ica as a company if food prices are not lowered.

"Lower the prices, if you don't, we will have to intervene. Private monopolies don't work anywhere. It leads to too high profits and too high prices. I appeal to you, lower the prices," says Dadgostar.

Fredrik Söderberg argues that Ica is already divided.

"Ica consists of 1,262 entrepreneurs who run their own stores, completely independently. So it is already split," says Söderberg, who hopes that business and politics will see the situation more similarly.

"We must share the view of how it looks, if we do, we can come to solutions."