Christmas is starting to creep closer and everywhere in the country, ham is grilled, herring is put in and sweated inside Systembolaget in the hunt for newbies and Christmas beer.
On the Swedish Christmas table, there are many classics that the Swedish people do not want to be without, such as herring, meatballs, prince’s sausage, Christmas ham, Jansson’s temptation and court master sauce.
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But the pressure this year on some goods has become high. But it is not the first time there has been a minor crisis in the stores.
Now it’s almost Christmas. Then many people go shopping the days before. ADAM IHSE / TT
During the midsummer holiday in 2022, for example, there was a shortage of strawberries, which created panic in Swedish households.
After a spring and summer with bad weather conditions for the domestic berries, wholesalers had to order berries from other countries for the first time in many years. With this, the prices also went up.
Due to unrest, saffron has currently been in short supply in many stores outside the country, which the customers show great dissatisfaction with.
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But for the Ica stores, this year it is a completely different commodity that is currently running out.
ICA chief: “Anchovies cannot be replaced”
News24 made contact with one of Stockholm’s store managers at Ica, where it is specifically an item that customers ask about on a daily basis. And it is nothing less than anchovies.
On the classic Christmas table, there is a jansson for many. Image source: Jurek Holzer / SvD / TT
– I seriously didn’t have time to answer the phone when you called, as I had to explain to several customers that anchovies are starting to be in short supply in the range. And yes, I still agree that it is difficult to replace, says the store manager.
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– What you think is the worst is that you, as an employee, want to offer the customer a compliment. But in a Swedish classic it is difficult to find, the store manager tells Nyheter24.
Is there anything else that customers are angry about?
– Postnord also has problems. And in a shop with a postal agent, we will be the ones who have to answer it, says the Ica manager.