Strawberry prices reach €70 per box in Finland

Strawberries are now selling for up to €70 per five-kilogram box at Helsinki’s Hakaniemi market, the highest price recorded in a Yle survey of ten Finnish cities.

The survey found berries most expensive in Helsinki and Turku, while Kuopio offered the lowest prices. Cloudberries (lakka) were particularly costly in Turku, partly due to long transport distances from Lapland.

Vendors noted that prices reflect general inflation and seasonal availability. In Rovaniemi, cloudberries sold for €28 per kilogram—higher than usual due to a poor harvest. One Lapland buyer paid a record €20 per kilogram to pickers.

Some customers, like Helsinki’s Timo Saren, pay without hesitation for quality, while others, such as Marja Siviranta in Lahti, described current prices as “outrageous” but still buy. In Kuopio, Tero Räsänen avoids market berries entirely, relying on relatives’ foraged harvests.

Not all prices have risen. In Mikkeli, cloudberries sold for as little as €25 per kilogram, with vendors reporting stable supply and quality. In Oulu, prices edged up slightly but remain below 2024 levels.