Norwegian Centre Party county leader demands abolition of farmed cod standard price committee, pressures ahead of budget talks

Trøndelag County Governor and Centre Party (Senterpartiet) member Tomas Iver Hallem published an article on 22 October 2026 calling on his party to make a clear demand for abolishing the aquaculture standard price committee (Normprisrådet) before budget negotiations begin, and named party leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum as the person he expects to push the matter forward.

Hallem opened the article by criticising the governing Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) for "not treating this industry well — quite the opposite." He called the government's proposal to extend the standard price committee a "provocation" to the aquaculture industry and to the Centre Party, and said he expected the Centre Party, under Vedum's leadership, to put forward a clear demand to abolish the committee before budget negotiations start.

The core of the dispute is the gap between the parliamentary resolution and the government's budget proposal. Hallem noted that the Storting (Norwegian parliament) has adopted a resolution calling on the government to submit a proposal to abolish the aquaculture standard price scheme and the aquaculture price committee (Prisrådet for havbruk) from the 2027 income year. But the government's budget proposal schedules the scheme to continue through the whole of 2027, with a hearing in spring 2027 and a new assessment in the 2028 national budget. Hallem argued that this fails to adequately implement the parliament's mandate, and that the industry needs a clear answer rather than delay.

In Hallem's view, the issue is about jobs and the survival of coastal communities. He said that for Trøndelag, aquaculture is far more than a matter of national tax revenue: many people in the county work in the industry and related fields, the industry generates output worth billions of Norwegian kroner and brings ripple effects; behind these figures are jobs for farmers, slaughterhouses, processing companies, suppliers and local communities. He argued that conditions should be created so these businesses can invest, develop better production methods and create new jobs, rather than tax arrangements that add bureaucracy and weaken investment opportunities.

Hallem also argued that small and medium-sized operators and local ownership must have a place in the future of aquaculture, which requires predictable framework conditions and less unnecessary bureaucracy.

On the tax issue, Hallem recalled that the Centre Party's own reason for abolishing the standard price committee was that it creates unnecessary bureaucracy and can produce unreasonable results in tax calculations. He said these are precisely the problems he expects Vedum to help resolve. He stressed that the aquaculture industry pays substantial taxes and contributes significantly to the wider community, and that this should continue, but taxes must be calculated in a way that reflects economic reality. He stated clearly that the Centre Party should use the budget negotiations to ensure the scheme is abolished from 2027 and to push for a simpler and fairer method of tax calculation; he also made clear that this demand is not about abolishing the resource rent tax (grunnrenteskatten), but about getting a better arrangement.

In closing, Hallem criticised the Labour-led government for appearing to have lost touch with the industry, and said the Centre Party should be the party that values food producers, job creators and builders of Norwegian rural communities, calling on Vedum and the Centre Party to stand up for the industry and ensure the parliament's resolution is implemented.