Concern for the production of blueberries in Finland

This year, only a third of the 16,000 regular seasonal workers were able to come from abroad. This shortage of foreign labor has already disrupted the strawberry harvest. Producers have successfully recruited less experienced local labor.

 

 

 

There is more concern for the production of blueberries. Each year, the Finnish industries, from food to cosmetics, need 20,000 tonnes of a variety of blueberries which are not cultivated but grow in abundance in the forests.

 

 

These blueberries are generally picked by Thai workers who have come to Finland for a few months, until the end of the summer. With international travel restrictions still in effect, none of them arrived this year.

 

 

 

To fill this gap, social networks invite "all Finns of working age to pick up a bucket of blueberries" to avoid missing an entire season.

 

 

However, the companies do not seem reassured and have declared that they will import their blueberries from Poland or Russia this year, which could contribute to higher prices in stores.