The harvest is now in full swing throughout the country. In the earliest parts of southern Sweden, some farmers are in the final phase, while in the far north, they have just started.  According to the Swedish Board of Agriculture's forecast from 15 August, this year's harvest is estimated to amount to 5.9 million tonnes. Lantmännen's assessment is that the harvest looks to be good both in volume and quality, although there are local variations. 

"A good harvest is welcome after two tough years, but unfortunately high input costs and low grain prices mean that profitability is challenged for many farmers. We need to strengthen the conditions for profitability throughout the food value chain in order to continue producing high-quality Swedish food," says Per Germundsson, Head of Grain at Lantmännen. 

The recent stable weather situation in large parts of the country means that the pressure on Lantmännen's grain receptions around the country has increased significantly. At the moment, record volumes are being received in a short period of time and intensive work is underway at the facilities, with transporters and farmers to maintain the pace and capacity of the delivery flows. 

"This is an intense period that requires both flexibility and close cooperation between farmers, transporters and our facilities. We do our utmost to maintain as high capacity as possible and at the same time ensure the quality of the grain that comes in from the fields," says Per. 

Lantmännen sees great opportunities to take advantage of the good harvest.  

"A good Swedish harvest also gives Sweden good conditions to begin building up national emergency stocks of grain and input goods, an area where Sweden is lagging behind compared to many other countries, not least our Nordic neighbours," Per concludes.