While Finland's inflation rate has dropped below one percent, households still feel the pinch of rising prices. Since 2021, food prices have increased by over 20 percent, as has the cost of housing, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
Consumer prices in Finland have risen by almost 17 percent in the past three years. The most significant increases, exceeding 20 percent, have been in food, housing and energy. While energy prices have recently declined, housing costs continue to climb.
According to the paper, Finland is one of the most expensive countries in the eurozone. This is despite inflation being slower here over the past three years than in other EU countries.
Although the European Central Bank has brought inflation under control within the bloc, an escalation of the war in the Middle East could, according to HS, drive up energy prices again, sparking a renewed acceleration of inflation across the eurozone, including in Finland.
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Lab-made protein
Agricultural newspaper Maaseudun Tulevaisuus meanwhile explores a future where protein is produced out of thin air.
Solar Foods, whose stated aim is to decouple food production from agriculture, has recently seen its protein powder approved for sale in the United States. The protein-rich powder has yet to receive a green light in the EU.
The Vantaa company's aim is to sell the powder to the food industry, and it does not manufacture consumer products.
Solar Foods' Solein, is borne by cultivating cell mass in large tanks. MT explains that the process starts by generating hydrogen and oxygen from water. The oxygen is released into the atmosphere, while the hydrogen is channelled into a 20,000-litre fermentation tank containing microbes that oxidize it. The microbes eventually produce protein mass after mixing with carbon dioxide and a small amount of oxygen.
Spot prices dive
On Monday, spot market electricity prices are exceptionally low, even dropping into negative territory, reports Ilta-Sanomat, citing data from Nordic electricity exchange Nordpool.
The spot price will peak at zero on Monday, while the average price is –0.09 cents per kilowatt-hour.
IS, however, points out that negative hourly prices do not imply that electricity is free, as customers still need to pay for electricity transfer, which includes value-added tax.
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