The producer organization ÖSP has estimated that half of the greenhouses in Finland will be dark this winter and is already talking about the biggest crisis in this sector.
According to Sweden Postsen, the country's greenhouse tomato production will decrease by half and the cultivation of cucumbers by 10 to 20% because of the high energy cost of maintaining production in winter. Finland has almost 400 hectares of greenhouses and grows most of its tomatoes and cucumbers in Närpes.
One of the companies that will be taking a break from production is Finland's largest tomato producer, which produces around 7.5 million kilograms of tomatoes per year on almost 9 hectares.
The company normally switches on its premises lights on September 1, and they remain on until the end of April. It's just not possible to be profitable with the current electricity prices, stated the company's managing director in the newspaper Vasabladet.
The consequences go beyond the winter season. The Finnish agricultural sector also fears there will be an overproduction in summer when cultivation resumes. In normal years, there is usually some oversupply in summer, which naturally lowers prices. However, the sector fears that things could be worse than usual in the summer of 2023 if all producers take out their crops at the same time.
Source: sweden.postsen.com / aenverde.es