The Social Democrats want to increase competition in the food market to reduce food prices.
Stricter requirements must be imposed on wholesalers, according to the party.
The cost of food for a two-child family is tens of thousands of kronor higher now than a few years ago, according to the Social Democrats' financial policy spokesperson Mikael Damberg.
One reason for the price increases is lack of competition, according to the Social Democrats. The three largest players, Ica, Axfood, and Coop, account for 90 percent of the market today.
Swedish food prices have risen more than in our Nordic neighboring countries, says Damberg.
Limit agreements
The three dominant chains also own their own wholesalers, and there is only one full-range wholesaler selling to independent retailers.
Competition between wholesalers must increase, according to the Social Democrats, through stricter requirements for retail chains to sell goods to competitors or limit exclusive agreements.
The Social Democrats also want the government to map out which actors in the food chain have benefited from the higher prices to ensure that the profits benefit all links in the chain. They propose a permanent mechanism, a kind of "Food Price Monitor" in public administration, to identify price increases in wholesale and daily goods trade.
Review EU directives
If authorities and politicians see where the price increases arise, competition will intensify and prices will fall, according to the Social Democrats.
I believe we would get a better functioning food market, lower prices for consumers, and perhaps our farmers would be treated more fairly than today, says Damberg.
The Social Democrats also think that the EU's directives on unfair trading practices (UTP) need to be reviewed to reduce the power of global suppliers such as Coca-Cola and Nestlé.
They have a very large power and that can mean they can take higher prices, says Mikael Damberg.
Corrected: In an earlier version, the time period for the two-child family's costs was incorrect.
