Background information

Due to the drastic price increase of energy, fertiliser and fodder exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Swedish government decided to support the Swedish agriculture and fishery industries. To support the companies’ survival and secure continued domestic food production in Sweden, the government decided to support agriculture, fishery and aqua culture enterprises via limited direct grants.

This measure is closely linked with Lower tax on diesel for companies in forestry, agriculture and aquaculture , as they are both part of the same package.

Content of measure

The government announced a support package of around SEK 2 billion in 2022. The aid was an addition to the support package of SEK 1 billion announced earlier in the year. With the new support package, the government also extended the eligibility of receiving grants through this measure to new parts of the livestock sector.

The government supported the livestock sector by SEK 1.6 billion under this measure. The enterprises impacted relate to poultry, pigs, milk, beef, sheep and goats. The measure also included aid of SEK 50 million for agriculture in Norrland, which is particularly affected by the increased transport costs due to large travel distances. Commercial fishing received an aid of SEK 40 million.

The Swedish Board of Agriculture (Jordbruksverket) proposed that aid be divided based on the number of animals and type of animal, or based on production area for greenhouse enterprises.

The aid package was approved by the European Commission in July 2022.

The announced aid package due to the war in Ukraine is an addition to one already handed-out in the spring budget . The government has also announced retroactive tax reductions on diesel for the primary sector industries .

Use of measure

In 2020, there were 689 companies engaged in greenhouse farming in Sweden. In regards to agricultural enterprises, there are 1,146 companies with pigs, 2,451 companies with chicken, 15,426 with cattle, and 7,956 with sheep, as well as 800 fisheries that have the opportunity to be impacted by this measure.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	European Funds National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

No information available.

Views and reactions

The Federation of Swedish Farmers LRF has welcomed the additional support package and highlighted the need for the hand-outs to take place urgently.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 29 January 2021: Animal production statistics, 2020 (Lantbrukets djur i juni 2020 Slutlig statistik) (jordbruksverket.se)
• 21 June 2021: Garden production 2020 (Trädgårds­produktion 2020) (jordbruksverket.se)
• 25 April 2022: Additional billions to Swedish Agriculture and Fisheries (Nya miljarder till lantbruk och fiske) (www.di.se)
• 06 May 2022: Crisis support package to animal production and greenhouse enterprises (Krisstöd till djurproduktion och växthusföretag) (jordbruksverket.se)
• 06 July 2022: EU Commission approves Swedish state aid to livestock and greenhouse producers (ec.europa.eu)
• 14 July 2022: ödet till lantbruket) (www.regeringen.se)