How fragile is Sweden's food supply?

A closure of the Öresund Bridge or a crop failure in a key import country is enough to affect what reaches Swedish grocery stores. Demand for solutions is growing across the country. Now PLATE researchers are mapping how to get the most food preparedness for the money. The study is to be completed in autumn 2027.

Sweden depends on imports for a large part of its food supply. That makes us vulnerable to disruptions beyond our control, such as extreme weather that devastates harvests, geopolitical tensions that close trade routes, or disruptions to critical transport infrastructure like the Öresund Bridge and Swedish motorways.

Economists Shon Ferguson and Sandra Kurniawati at SLU are analysing how different types of shocks affect food supply and food prices, and which disruptions hit Swedish consumers the hardest. The project will also examine which policy measures deliver the most impact per krona spent.

Resultaten ska peka ut var i systemet sårbarheten är störst och ge ett konkret beslutsunderlag för myndigheter och politiker som planerar en mer motståndskraftig livsmedelsförsörjning. Studien beräknas vara klar hösten 2027.