No berry pickers from Thailand have arrived in Finland, news conglomerate Uutissuomalainen reported on Monday.
While Finland has approved around 900 work residence permits for Thai berry pickers, Thai authorities have not granted exit visas.
The situation is already very critical for Finland's wild forest berries this harvest season, said Birgitta Partanen, Director of the Arctic Flavours Association. She said a solution must be found this week, otherwise it will be too late.
Thai and Finnish authorities are due to discuss the situation by Friday at the latest.
Yle News' All Points North podcast examined how worker exploitation sowed Finland's bitter berry scandal. Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Human trafficking suspicions changed protocol
The Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs announced in March that berry pickers could no longer come to Finland on tourist visas. Instead, they need work residence permits, which means the berry companies must hire them.
The rules were changed, among other things, due to suspicions of human trafficking at three large Finnish berry companies.
The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) has already granted residence permits to around 900 Thai berry pickers, Svenska Yle reported last week.
However, the berry pickers also need exit visas from Thai authorities, of which none have been granted.
"Thailand's Ministry of Labour has not received enough information that the problems that occurred in Finland have been corrected and that it is safe to come here and pick berries now that the pickers are employed by the companies," Partanen told Uutissuomalainen.
The harvest season is already underway for blueberries in southern Finland and is also starting in other parts of the country.