Although it would be logical to assume that importing goods from another country costs more, at some retailers, imported Finnish packaged carrots and potatoes are priced lower than Estonian produce.

At Prisma supermarkets, for example, a one-kilogram package of Finnish Kotimaista carrots costs €0.99 and a one-kilogram package of prewashed Finnish rainbow carrots is priced at €1.69, but domestic Kadarbiku carrots sold in half-kilo packages cost €2.58 per kilogram (kg). Finnish carrots are several times cheaper than Estonian ones in Coop stores as well.

A two-kilogram bag of Finnish Kotimaista potatoes at Prisma, meanwhile, costs €2.19, or just under €1.10 per kg; Estonian potatoes, meanwhile, cost around €1.45 per kg.

Kadarbiku Köögivili CEO Veiko Pak told ERR that you never know how a store will decide to price a product.

"There's no logic when it comes to vegetable prices; they're inherently so cheap," Pak acknowledged. He said that stores can change vegetable prices at will and sell below cost if necessary, as is the case with bagged milk.

"It's the same with vegetables," he said. "If they want, they sell cheaply; if they want, [they'll sell] for more. It's more up to retailers how they price them."

Potato producer Kalle Hamburg agrees, suggesting that price differences are primarily tied to retail chain policies.

"In Finland, retail prices are relatively stable regardless of the year, or whether [there has been] a good or bad harvest," he noted. "If it's a good harvest year, potato growers will see some profits, but some years, retail chains take that profit. For consumers, prices remain stable."

Estonian prices hinge on harvests

Price fluctuations in Estonia are bigger, and Hamburg pointed out that the situation will vary significantly from year to year. Some years, when there's a good harvest, there is a huge oversupply, exerting significant price pressure on growers. When harvests are bad, prices will skyrocket by spring.

The stability of the Finnish market, he noted, is due to stable contractual relationships between retailers and growers.

"The chain [in Finland] tries to manage in a way that the grower will survive too; there's no such brotherly love in Estonia," the potato producer said. "Potatoes are a staple product and must be cheaper. Retail chains closely monitor competitors' prices for potatoes and milk; they're willing to undercut each other by even a cent."

Pressure from retailers is significant, he confirmed, adding that there are years where potatoes are sold in stores for twice as cheap as their cost price.

Finland likewise has its own potato processing industry, and 80 percent of potato growers' volumes are under contracts with the industry; the remaining 20 percent is what plays out in retail.

In Estonia, however, every single potato is fighting for space on store shelves, and according to Hamburg, local growers have no financial buffer.

Prisma procurement director Kaimo Niitaru said that Finnish products are priced lower for consumers due to lower purchase prices for the retailer.

"This largely stems from the fact that production volumes in Finland are several times larger than in Estonia," he noted. "The cost of inputs necessary for production, such as electricity, are likewise lower in Finland than in Estonia."

Nevertheless, according to Niitaru, Estonian customers will still buy more domestic potatoes and carrots.

Potato grower: Packaged potatoes should cost more

The unit price of potatoes and carrots will also vary considerably depending on whether they're sold prepackaged or by weight. Hamburg noted that prewashed and prepackaged potatoes should indeed be of higher quality.

"With unwashed potatoes, you can't see any small dents or scratches," he explained. "Sorting losses are much higher for packaged potatoes than for unwashed ones."

Packaging is a cost as well, as there is significantly more work involved, he noted.

"And of course, unwashed potatoes indeed discredit potatoes; they compromise potatoes as a food product," Hamburg said. "There have also been compromises in quality due to the fierce price competition, and sometimes that [potato] bin at the store is very unsightly."

There is also a significant difference in price between prepackaged carrots and those sold by weight; the latter go for around €0.29 per kg in stores. Pak drew a parallel with coffee, whose price differs significantly depending on whether you're ordering it at a cafe or making it yourself at home.

"More effort is put into packaging," he explained. "Extra packaging, extra work, extra mechanisms; there's a logic to this being that way. Consumers have more options to choose between this or that, depending on their opportunities and needs."

According to the Kadarbiku Köögivili chief, price battles are happening on every front, since everyone wants more money for their work — from businesses to employees.

"Vegetables are like bagged milk," Pak said. They are a battleground for competition, he explained, with retailers using them to lure shoppers, increasing pressure to keep raw materials prices as low as possible.

"That isn't making producers' lives any easier," he admitted. "This year, wholesale carrot prices are 12 percent lower than last year thanks to competition. The Estonian market is so small and open that if anyone does anything with dumping, then that's the price. Then you have to consider that that's the nature of competition, and accept these conditions."

Pak emphasized that, ultimately, raw vegetables are very cheap for consumers, and those who want to cook at home can get three kilograms of carrots by weight for just €1. Cabbage is cheap as well, he added.

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