Is the long hot dry summer is taking its toll on Laplands berry crop?

The hot dry summer has had an effect on the usually bountiful supply of berries in Finnish Lapland. Forest berries have been part of the Finnish diet for hundreds of years. Everyman´s rights in Finland allow people to walk and pick up wild berries even in forests and swamps that they do not own or without any permission from landowners provided that they don’t damage the environment. During August and September Finns make frequent visits to the forests and fells collecting berries for their own use or to be sold by the kilo / litre to berry traders that take up residence in market places throughout Finland for the berry season.

About 67 % of adult people pick up forest berries in Finland. When the crop is good, people pick up about 50 million kilos of berries. Of these 35 million kilos are for personal home consumption and 15 million kilos are used commercially. Berries collected include lingonberries, cloudberries and bilberries / blue berries.

In recent years berry pickers from Russia, Ukraine and even as far a field as Thailand have arrived in Finland during August and September to collect berries, all being paid by the kilo. In the past they have been able to pick enough to cover their travel, accommodation and food costs and still make a profit.
The drought and dry summer, have resulted in a poor berry crop this season in some areas of Lapland creating problems for the foreign berry-pickers. Many Russian and Ukrainian berry-pickers, who have travelled to Finland with high hopes of earning money by picking wild berries feel cheated and would like to go home, but have no money for a return trip or for food.  They are turning to local authorities for help.

Locals agree it is a poor year but those with a good local knowledge are heading to the “wet” areas where berries can still be found and are finding enough for domestic use. Even more of a worry to the Finnish forest food pickers is the lack of mushrooms, another highlight on the Finnish calender.

For areas traditionally offering good berry and mushroom picking

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