Surge in Berry Sales Signals Record Season Ahead
Trading site Tori.fi has become a vibrant marketplace for berry sellers this summer, with listings already surpassing the previous year’s numbers. Notably, blueberry sales are on track to break records, reflecting a year of fruitful opportunities for both seasoned pickers and newcomers alike.
High prices for wild berries have propelled Finns into the forests in unprecedented numbers. Industry analysts are predicting a bumper season driven by a sharp increase in the prices paid to domestic pickers. Last year, buyers offered around €1.55 per liter for freshly picked, uncleaned blueberries; this summer, however, the advance price has soared to €4.50 per liter, making the effort to forage worthwhile.
Soili Toura, a berry picker from Savitaipale, has certainly felt the impact of these rising prices. Along with her husband, Ilkka, they have already delivered approximately 20 buckets of blueberries to a purchasing center operated by Dalla Valle in Lappeenranta. “We’ve been making close to €1,000 a week with our harvesting,” Toura shared, a testament to the financial benefits of this seasonal venture.
An interesting twist this year has been the dramatic decrease in foreign berry pickers. So far, only 123 from Thailand have made the journey to Finland—a sharp drop from the 2,000 typically seen in previous seasons. Toura speculated that this reduction has contributed to the increased availability of berries. Most visa applications for this year’s berry season were denied following allegations of worker exploitation, resulting in a shift towards domestic harvesters.
Threefold Surge in Sellers
At Dalla Valle, which has been purchasing wild berries from independent pickers for over 30 years, the number of sellers has tripled compared to last year. CEO Loreno Dalla Valle reported that this surge spans all 70 of the company’s purchasing locations, allowing experienced pickers to make between €200 to €300 daily. “Finns will pick berries when the price is right,” Dalla Valle noted, perfectly summarizing the motivator behind this increased participation.
A Flourishing Online Marketplace
The berry boom is also evident on the internet. Tori.fi, the online marketplace, has recorded around 3,000 listings for blueberries, with buyers conducting approximately 50,000 targeted searches for fresh, wild blueberries this season alone. In contrast, last year saw only about 6,000 listings throughout the entire season, with 85,000 searches.
Jenni Tuomisto, Tori.fi’s chief in Finland, reported that July’s blueberry listings are already more than 50% ahead of last year’s figures. As August approaches—the typical peak month for blueberry sales—2023 could potentially see record-breaking activity.
Pricing for cleaned blueberries on Tori.fi has remained relatively stable, with 10 liters typically priced around €50, a figure that hasn’t fluctuated significantly in recent years.
Emergence of New Marketplaces
The rising interest in berry picking has catalyzed the launch of new online platforms dedicated exclusively to berry sales. One such site, Marjanetti.fi, launched this spring and has already attracted several hundred users. Additionally, local Facebook community groups have become popular venues for buying and selling wild berries, further diversifying the marketplace.
As this berry season continues to unfold, the blend of competitive pricing, increased domestic participation, and online sell-through signals a ripe opportunity for both novice foragers and seasoned harvesters alike.
