Despite their apparent interest in gourmet food and gear, Norwegians are spending more and more of their money on sweets, snacks and frozen pizzas.

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New statistics from the Norwegian Institute for Agri-economic Research (NILF) reveal a steady increase in sweet and easy solutions.

In the roughly NKr16bn (US$2.2bn) spent on convenience foods in 2002, NKr950m alone was spent on Norway’s apparent national dish, the frozen pizza, a 15.3% increase from the year before. Ice cream seems to be the most likely dessert, with NKr893m sold, a rise of 17.3%.

Ready-to-eat meals were up 27.1%, and the slightly more challenging Mexican food packages (taco/tortilla plus accompaniments) were up 11.9%. Powder-based soup packets worth NKr250m were sold, and ready-made sauces were even bigger business – with NKr400m worth of powdered and NKr200m of liquid purchased in 2002.

Marzipan and seasonal sweets (Christmas and Easter) were up fully 32.4%. But despite an outlay of NKr127m on holiday treats, chocolate producers are concerned by their loss of market share to marzipan, news agency NTB reports.

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Last year’s average consumption of 12.9 kilos of chocolates and candy per Norwegian may sound high, but it reflects a 3% drop in chocolate. Norway’s notorious border trade problem, with shoppers streaming across the Swedish border to avoid hefty duties, is hitting the nation’s chocolate producers hard.

With tax representing 15-20% of the price of a Norwegian chocolate, more Norwegians now buy chocolate in Sweden than buy alcohol or tobacco.