Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0110/01103.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 16KB | 307 lines

$Unique_ID{COW01103}
$Pretitle{411}
$Title{Denmark
Industry in Denmark}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Henning Dehn Nielsen}
$Affiliation{Ministry of Foreign Affairs}
$Subject{industry
danish
denmark
production
percent
industrial
now
agriculture
large
business}
$Date{1990}
$Log{Table 1.*0110301.tab
Table 2.*0110302.tab
Table 3.*0110303.tab
}
Country:     Denmark
Book:        Facts about Denmark
Author:      Henning Dehn Nielsen
Affiliation: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Date:        1990

Industry in Denmark

     Danish industry is highly diversified. Airplanes and ball bearings are
among the very few goods that are not in production. Even cars are
manufactured, though in a special el-version designed for pollution-free
urban traffic. Since time immemorial - and the days of the stone age man and
the Vikings - and up to our own time Denmark, lacking more interesting raw
materials, has been a predominantly agricultural country. One had to make do
with what was available - one's soil and one's intelligence - and the result
was then and is now that Denmark is one of the world's leading agricultural
nations.

     However, with the population demanding greater affluence, industry too
had to expand its base. After some energetic attempts just before the turn of
the century, and again during the 1930s, the final and convincing breakthrough
came in the 1960s, the decade when industry surpassed agriculture in all the
more important economic indices. Thus today industry employs 16 percent of
the work-force and agriculture 6 percent, and industry accounts for 68 percent
of the exports as compared with agriculture's 15 percent.

     Formerly, the captains of industry and agriculture would get all worked
up as soon as the discussion turned to whose business was the biggest. That
debate has now run its course, also because in many products it is hard to
determine precisely where the agricultural ingredient ends and the industrial
ingredient begins. For instance foodstuffs, Denmark's biggest industry, are
wholly dependent on deliveries from agriculture

     Danish agriculture has always been known for its efficiency. This is also
true today when the law provides that enterprises should be run by private
families and not by joint-stock companies. This way of doing business yields
remarkable results with regard to both production standards and job
satisfaction.

The relative importance of the individual industries

     Before examining various industries more closely, let us first glance at
one year's total production value in Denmark by industrial origin:

[See Table 1.: Production value 1987]

Exports by industries

     The scarcity of domestic raw materials means that Denmark has to import
large amounts to ensure a production - and has to export large amounts in
order to pay for the sizeable imports. Consequently, Denmark is among the
nations with the biggest external trade per capita. This in turn means that
Denmark - in her own interest-has always been a staunch supporter of the most
liberal trade policies. That is a position Denmark has adopted - and continues
to adopt - in the OECD and as a member first of EFTA and now of the EC.

     In the tables below are shown exports by industrial origin and of
countries of destination:

[See Table 2.: Type of commodity 1987]

[See Table 3.: External trade by countries 1987]

Enough food for New York and Tokyo

     Now for a closer look at the various industries. In the Middle Ages,
agriculture, as in so many other countries, was characterized by a population
huddled together in villages and ruled by the local squire. This led to a
clumsy and undemocratic production method. In Denmark that system was
abandoned early. About 200 years ago the peasants were liberated and given
their own land. They plucked up courage and moved the farm buildings out into
the fields, thereby greatly increasing their daily output. Later came the folk
high schools - a uniquely Danish educational and cultural movement inspired
by N.F.S. Grundtvig- which further broadened the peasants' knowledge and
stimulated their initiative. There followed a rapid end to cattle diseases,
the introduction of techniques which were constantly improved upon,etc.

     In the late 1800s, when cheap grain from North America and Russia ruined
the economy of many farmers in Europe, the Danes made a bold decision.
Shifting swiftly from the cultivation of plants to animal production, they
turned the cheap foreign grain to advantage by using it as fodder instead.

     In the following decades the main commodities became butter, eggs and
bacon for England and meat for Germany. As member of the EC, Danish
agricultural production has been partly restructured, with the emphasis now
being placed more on cheese, veal for Italy and pork for Japan, while new
sophisticated export articles are being continuously developed in such areas
as dairy products and fast foods.

     Danish agriculture yields a sufficient surplus to feed not only the
country's own people, but also the combined populations of for instance New
York and Tokyo.

     While being their own masters, the farmers soon moved ahead to organize
on a co-operative basis for wholesale purchase, production and distribution.
These efforts were named the Co-operative Movement, a form of partnership
which is still being imitated in many other countries. The first well-known
co-operative dairy, founded in 1822, was Danish.

     Ever since the liberation of the peasants, the law concerning the size
of lots has contained the provision that a farmstead must be just big enough
to support one family. Consequently, today only 15 percent of the farms use
hired help. Besides, the joint-stock company form is prohibited. The thorough
modernization of farming has of course enabled families to manage larger and
larger holdings, as a result of which the number of farms has naturally
declined. Today there are about 84,000 farms left as compared with a steady
200,000 during the first half of the century. The average age of the Danish
farmer is 52.

The world's biggest pelt auctions

     As an island kingdom, Denmark of course has a well-developed fishing
industry - a fleet of some 3200 vessels whose main catch is cod, herring,
sprat, mackerel and plaice. Uniquely among EC-countries Danish fishermen
catch large quantities of industrial fish destined for the production of
herring meal and herring oil. Of the total catch, industrial fish acount for
14 percent of the value and 76 percent of the volume (1987). Of all the
world's industries Danish fishery is perhaps the one that comes closest to
genuine economic democracy. The value of each catch is divided according to
fixed rules among the entire crew from captain to deckhand. This so-called
"partnership fishing" makes everyone eager to catch as much as possible.

     Linked to farming, there is a large production of mink pelts. The mink
are fed on fish offal from the many tinned-fish factories. As an offshoot of
mink-breeding the world's largest auctions with all kinds of pelts are held in
Denmark every year.

How an industry is developed

     At first glance it seems puzzling that a country almost totally lacking
raw materials could become an efficient industrial nation. How did it get the
incentive to industrialize?

     In the case of Denmark there is a solution to the puzzle. As mentioned
above, Danish industry since its inception has had a solid base in quality
goods derived from agriculture and fishing. From grain, potatoes and beets an
industrial production of beer, aquavit and sugar was developed; from meat
and fish came tinned food and from animal intestines pharmaceutical products.
One of these, insulin, has become an article with a worldwide sale and is now
also produced in a very advanced gene-spliced variety.

     For the processing of agricultural produce- as in agricultural production
itself - machinery was needed. Danish industry took that upon itself. Machines
for the production of butter, sugar, cho