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Sweden Launches Emergency Grain Reserves, With First Sites in the North

The 2026 budget funds a 575 million‑krona program to place state‑managed stocks where long supply lines could fail in a crisis.

Overview

  • Stockpiling returns for the first time since the Cold War, with funding set at 575 million kronor in next year’s budget.
  • A procurement tender has opened for storage in Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Västernorrland and Jämtland, which now depend on grain shipped from the south.
  • The Swedish Board of Agriculture says reserves will be regularly rotated to prevent spoilage and avoid distorting markets.
  • Civil Defense Minister Carl‑Oskar Bohlin cites the risk of disrupted supply chains and possible regional isolation, noting the north’s military importance and low grain self‑sufficiency.
  • Authorities say 90–95% of people could subsist on grains for about three months at roughly 3,000 calories a day, aligning with Sweden’s revived total defense posture after its 2024 NATO entry.