Why it is that Norwegians pay the same amount for Icelandic lamb that Icelanders do appears to not be as clear-cut as it seems.
As reported, an Icelander living in Norway recently posted on Facebook that he was able to buy a leg of lamb from his local store for about 1,000 ISK per kilo – the same price that an Icelander would pay, thus making it considerably cheaper for Norwegians, considering the exchange rate.
Þórólfur Matthíasson, a professor of economics, contended in an article he wrote for Fréttablaðið that some 400 million to 1.2 billion ISK in tax money goes every year to helping lower the cost of Icelandic meat for export.
However, Vísir reports, Haraldur Benediktsson, director of the Farmers Associaton of Iceland, disagrees with the professor.
Haraldur told the radio show Reykjavík síðdegis that he believes Norwegian shops feature Icelandic lamb to attract customers, and that the shops themselves sell the meat for less than they paid for it in order to do so. He added that the largest market for Icelandic lamb meat is domestic, bought by Icelanders and visiting foreigners.
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