Estonian bread squeezed in Finland

  • 2004-08-26
  • From wire reports
HELSINKI - In an effort to deny Estonian bread a market share, Finnish supermarkets have been keeping prices artificially high, Jouko Vantaa, a Finnish businessman selling Estonia's Saaremaa bread, said last week.

Vantaa, who travels by van twice a week from Tallinn to Helsinki, told the business daily Kauppalehti that he had so far managed to sell Saaremaa-baked rye bread only to state and municipal stores, which are obliged by the EU to accept the cheapest bid.
Private stores, however, are barring entrance to cheaper Estonian bread.
According to the daily, Estonian bread costs Finnish consumers 2.8 euros, while Finnish bread of equal standards costs 6 euros - 7 euros.
Finnish retail agents claim that Estonian bread, presently only sold in one store, didn't offer enough surplus value.
After EU accession, there are no barriers to imports of Estonian bread into Finland.
The 1,000 - 1,500 loaves of bread that Vantaa imports weekly comprise only a small fraction of total consumption in the Helsinki area, he said. Still, it was enough to make Finnish producers nervous.
"We are creating price pressure on the market," he said.
Vantaa is also planning to import Estonian cheese in Finland. Estonian cheese is currently sold at 10 euros per kilogram in Finnish stores, even though the same cheese costs less than 3 euros per kilogram at home.