Finnish berry prices surge as picking industry recovers from scandals

Yle reports that prices for Finnish berries have risen sharply as the berry-picking industry attempts to recover from controversy. Cloudberries now cost more than twice as much as they did two years ago, while lingonberries and bilberries have risen by about 30 per cent.

The price increases have followed a shortage of berries. Most of the crop is being left in the forests because Finnish pickers have not made up for the shortfall created by the reduced number of foreign pickers.

In July, Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs rejected most visa applications from foreign berry pickers. The aim was to prevent human trafficking and exploitation following abuses reported in the industry.

Birgitta Partanen, executive director of the industry association Arktiset Aromit, said berry prices had been rising for several years. She said prices had already increased considerably last year and had not fallen this year.

Susanna Lindstedt, founder and owner of Meritalo, which makes berry jams from Finnish berries, said availability had been relatively poor this year. The higher raw material costs will also raise the prices of the company’s jams to some extent.

Partanen said this year could show whether the industry can operate with Finnish pickers. If domestic pickers manage to collect large quantities, she said, it would indicate a positive direction for the sector.

Arja Kastarinen, chief executive of berry company Pakkasmarja, said the industry was trying to recover from cartel suspicions and human trafficking scandals. She welcomed the increased interest among Finns in picking berries and said the controversies may have contributed to that interest.

Kastarinen said it was too early to comment on the size of this year’s harvest or on berry prices. Both will become clear after the season ends in October or November.

Companies may need to source more berries from abroad. Saarioinen’s director of procurement, Mikko Tervonen, said the food company was considering additional purchases from Sweden. So far, however, Saarioinen has received raw materials from Finland, he told Yle by email.