Finland’s Competition and Consumer Authority has proposed fines of more than €9 million against major berry industry companies after uncovering what officials described as a long-running nationwide cartel that affected wild berry prices for a decade.
The authority, known as KKV, said five of the country’s largest wild berry companies coordinated the prices paid to berry pickers between 2013 and 2023 while also exchanging commercially sensitive market information linked to frozen berry sales.
The case covers blueberries, lingonberries and cloudberries collected across Finland’s forests, an industry that relies heavily on seasonal foreign labour, especially workers recruited from Thailand.
KKV said the companies used phone calls, text messages and WhatsApp chats to align purchase prices during berry harvest seasons. Officials said the arrangement reduced competition and allowed companies to pay pickers less because rival firms were offering similar rates.
KKV has asked the Market Court to impose penalties totalling about €9.4 million on Arctic International, Kaskein Marja, Marja Bothnia Berries and Polarica. The authority said Kiantama, which also took part in the arrangement, avoided fines after cooperating with investigators and helping expose the cartel.
“The conduct was a serious and long-lasting competition violation,” KKV Director General Kirsi Leivo said during a press conference on Wednesday.
“This directly harmed pickers and weakened competition on the sales market.”
According to KKV, the companies involved controlled about 80 per cent of Finland’s domestic wild berry purchasing market and nearly 78 per cent of the wholesale frozen berry market in 2023.
The largest proposed penalty targets Polarica and related companies with a demand of almost €6 million. Marja Bothnia Berries faces proposed penalties of about €1.8 million, while Arctic International and related companies face fines of about €970,000. Kaskein Marja faces a separate proposed penalty of about €785,000.
The final decision rests with Finland’s Market Court.
KKV said the investigation began in 2022 through cooperation between the National Bureau of Investigation and regional labour authorities. Officials carried out raids on company premises in Finland and Sweden during the inquiry.
The authority reviewed about 20,000 documents, including roughly 8,800 text and WhatsApp messages exchanged between company representatives.
Research Director Pekka Mattila said mobile communications played a central role in the investigation.
“This is the first time communication on mobile devices has had such a significant role in one of our cartel investigations,” Mattila said.
Officials said the companies appeared aware their actions were questionable because they often avoided formal written correspondence.
KKV said it could not identify a single company or executive that initiated the arrangement. Mattila said the practice appeared to have become an established industry pattern over time.
“It seems this had existed in the sector for years,” he said.
Kiantama said it had worked closely with authorities throughout the investigation. Chief executive Janne Piikivi said the company had introduced staff training and updated internal procedures after the case emerged.
“Kiantama has actively cooperated with KKV during the entire process,” Piikivi said in a statement.
Without cooperation, KKV said Kiantama would have faced proposed penalties of about €1.4 million.
The case emerged under Finland’s leniency system, which allows companies involved in cartels to receive reduced penalties or immunity if they help expose illegal conduct.
Several companies rejected the allegations on Wednesday.
Polarica said KKV’s conclusions were unfounded and argued there was no evidence of illegal competition practices. The company also pointed to a previous investigation by Sweden’s competition authority, Konkurrensverket, which examined similar conduct in Sweden without imposing penalties.
Marja Bothnia Berries also denied wrongdoing. Chief executive Tommy Gustafsson said communication between berry companies reflected normal market practice in a sector where picker prices were publicly visible.
“It is strange that Finnish authorities interpret a transparent operating model as a serious competition violation lasting more than ten years when Swedish authorities viewed similar conduct as normal industry practice,” Gustafsson said in a statement.
KKV said it could not determine whether the alleged cartel affected consumer prices directly. Officials said the arrangement focused mainly on prices paid to pickers and wholesale frozen berry sales rather than retail products sold to consumers.
Research cited by KKV estimates that cartels often increase prices by between 10 and 30 per cent above normal market levels.
The berry industry in Finland has faced growing scrutiny in recent years over labour practices and corruption allegations tied to the recruitment of foreign pickers.
Several executives connected to companies named in the cartel investigation have also faced separate criminal investigations linked to alleged human trafficking and bribery.
Former Kiantama chief executive Vernu Vasunta received a prison sentence in 2025 for aggravated human trafficking involving Thai berry pickers. The ruling is not final.
Former Polarica chief executive Jukka Kristo has also faced charges linked to alleged aggravated human trafficking involving dozens of Thai workers. Separate investigations connected to Arctic International have moved to prosecutorial review.
All defendants in those criminal cases have denied wrongdoing.
The Market Court will now examine KKV’s proposal before deciding whether the companies breached Finland’s competition laws and whether penalties should be imposed.
HT