Finland’s Wild Berry Industry Lands in the Middle of a €9.4 Million Cartel Case

Key Takeaways

• Finnish Watchdog Seeks €9.4 Million In Penalties: The FCCA proposed penalties against companies in the wild berry sector over an alleged cartel involving coordinated picker prices and information exchanges from 2013 to 2023.
• WhatsApp And Text Messages Played A Central Role: Authorities allege companies coordinated prices paid to berry pickers through phone calls, text messages, and WhatsApp communications, particularly during harvest seasons.
• The Alleged Cartel Directly Affected Pickers: The FCCA said the conduct allowed companies to suppress the prices paid to berry pickers because competitors were not independently offering better terms.
• Leniency Once Again Proved Critical In Cartel Enforcement: Kiantama Oy avoided penalties after cooperating with the FCCA, highlighting how competition authorities continue to rely heavily on leniency programs to uncover cartels.

Deep Dive

Finland's FCCA recently proposed roughly €9.4 million in penalty payments against companies tied to what it described as a long-running purchasing and information-exchange cartel in Finland’s wild berry sector. The alleged conduct stretched from 2013 through 2023 and involved five of the industry’s largest companies: Arctic International, Kaskein Marja, Kiantama, Marja Bothnia Berries, and Polarica.

According to the authority, the companies coordinated the prices paid to wild berry pickers through bilateral phone calls, text messages, and WhatsApp communications, particularly during harvest seasons when competition for berries would naturally intensify.

The FCCA also alleges the companies exchanged commercially sensitive information involving frozen berry wholesale prices, supply conditions, and broader market dynamics.

A Purchasing Cartel With Real-World Consequences

The authority’s allegations go beyond companies simply observing the same market conditions and arriving at similar prices. The FCCA says firms actively coordinated what they would pay pickers. That distinction matters because the alleged conduct directly affected the people at the bottom of the supply chain — the workers actually gathering berries from forests across Finland.

According to the authority, the companies were able to keep picker prices lower because competing firms were not independently offering better terms.

“This conduct can be regarded as a highly reprehensible competition infringement. It is a long-running and serious cartel that has directly harmed pickers and has also weakened competition on the sales markets,” FCCA Director General Kirsi Leivo said in a statement.

The case also reflects how competition enforcement increasingly focuses on labor and purchasing markets rather than only end-consumer pricing. Regulators across multiple jurisdictions have become more aggressive in examining wage-fixing, no-poach agreements, and buyer-side coordination. Finland’s berry market may seem niche, but the underlying theory behind the case is not.

And then there is the wider backdrop hanging over the industry.

Finland’s wild berry sector has faced years of scrutiny involving migrant labor practices, human trafficking allegations, and broader concerns about exploitation tied to seasonal harvesting operations. The FCCA specifically noted that the penalty proposal concerns companies linked to individuals who have appeared in public reporting connected to human trafficking and corruption investigations in the berry sector, though the authority emphasized it would not comment on those separate matters.

One Company Walked Away Without a Fine

One of the more revealing details in the case is not who received penalties. It is who did not. Kiantama was granted immunity from penalty payments after cooperating with the FCCA under Finland’s leniency framework. The company applied for immunity after the authority conducted inspections at company premises in September 2023. Without that cooperation, the FCCA said it would have proposed approximately €1.4 million in penalties against the company.

“A company participating in a cartel may obtain immunity or a reduction of a penalty payment by revealing the cartel to the FCCA. This procedure is known as leniency. Leniency is a central tool for uncovering cartels,” said Pekka Mattila, the FCCA’s Head of Research.

Leniency programs have become one of the most effective tools competition authorities possess because cartels are notoriously difficult to uncover from the outside. Pricing discussions rarely happen in formal meeting minutes. They happen in fragments. Calls. Messages. Conversations that participants assume will remain private. Sometimes for years.

The Case Now Heads to Finland’s Market Court

The investigation itself began through cooperation between Finnish authorities including the National Bureau of Investigation and the TE Office of Northern Ostrobothnia, now part of the KEHA Centre. The Swedish Competition Authority also assisted in the investigation. The FCCA’s proposed penalties are divided across several companies and affiliated entities.

The largest proposed penalties target Polarica-related entities and Kaskein Marja Oy, with the authority proposing €5,914,901 against Polarica, Polarica Marjahankinta, and Kaskein Marja. Marja Bothnia Berries Oy Ltd faces proposed penalties of €1,758,080. JN-Group, Arctic International, and Ber-Ex face proposed penalties totaling €970,479. An additional €785,699 penalty was proposed specifically against Kaskein Marja.

In total, the FCCA is seeking €9,429,159 in penalties. The Market Court will now decide whether those penalties are ultimately imposed.

For a case centered on wild berries, it offers a surprisingly modern portrait of cartel enforcement. Digital communications. Cross-border regulatory cooperation. Leniency applications. Alleged coordination carried out through smartphones during harvest seasons.

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