The high price of electricity is already posing a challenge to the viability of Finnish commercial greenhouses. But, according to the nation's Glasshouse Growers' Association, some entrepreneurs will at least temporarily suspend operations next winter due to the high electricity prices.
Some of the companies in the business have stable fixed-term electricity contracts, but others rely on power bought at volatile electricity exchange prices. If the electricity bills are really high, greenhouse farming will simply become unprofitable this winter.
For consumers, this will be reflected, at the very least, in lower than normal availability of domestically-grown cucumbers and tomatoes this coming winter. Some growers have already made plans to suspend production for the winter months.
One farm manager said: "The increase in energy costs is a challenge for the company. We are trying to make operations more efficient. For example, we have partially switched to LED lights, and we are trying to keep production losses as low as possible."
Source: yle.fi