The drought and heat last year resulted in grain harvests being almost halved, which dealt a severe blow to Swedish agriculture. Lantmännen announced a substantial support package in August last year to ease the burden on its members.
This week, the second part of the support package is now being allocated to Swedish farmers who are members of Lantmännen. This part consists of an extra discount and supplement of 2% on member trading with Lantmännen Lantbruk Sweden in the last four months of last year (September to December 2018). The money will be available as a credit note in their invoice account.
“Altogether, around 55 million kronor will be shared between Lantmännen members. I am very pleased that we as an agriculture cooperative have been able to dedicate substantial resources to our members to ease the negative consequences of the extreme weather last year. It will improve the situation somewhat for our farmers at a time when we cast our eyes forward and hope for a normal year,” says Per Lindahl, Chair of the Lantmännen Board.
The Lantmännen support package includes various initiatives that were resolved on in summer 2018, to a total value of around SEK 220 million, such as an extra dividend for members, extra discount and supplement on all trading with Lantmännen Lantbruk Sweden, a reduced interest rate on credit, and fees waived on the redemption of grain contracts. The first part of the package amounted to some SEK 150 million and was paid out in September last year.
“It is also a sign of strength that Lantmännen is proposing its highest ever ordinary dividend this year. In addition to the measures that have been implemented as a consequence of the drought, the Lantmännen board is also proposing a dividend to its members of 619 million kronor,” says Lindahl.
For members wanting more information, the simplest way is to log into the Lantmännen digital service, LM² Ekonomi, or email Lantmännen’s payments service.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Per Lindahl, Chair of the Board, Lantmännen
Tel: +46 706 25 64 54
Email: per.lindahl@lantmannen.com
Lantmännen Press Office
Tel: +46 10 556 88 00
Email: press@lantmannen.com