Russia's invasion of Ukraine is piling pressure on the global food system, and Finland is facing the prospect of rising food prices, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
Fertiliser companies in Finland are already feeling the squeeze, with some telling HS they're worried about Russia potentially restricting exports of fertiliser raw materials. One of these firms, Yara, said 80 percent of the ammonia used by its Finnish factories comes from Russia.
While fertiliser prices in Finland have tripled in the past year, Finnish agricultural producers can source some of their needs domestically while some chemicals can be imported from countries like Canada, though such rearrangements will take time.
Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä (Cen) told Yle over the weekend that the price tag for a standard basket of groceries could nearly double, partly due to knock-on effects from steep increases in fuel and fertiliser prices.
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Is the worst over?
The war Ukraine has roiled financial markets around the world, but Antti Saari, lead strategist at Nordea, said markets are recovering from the initial shock though volatility may continue.
"Most likely the worst drop is starting to be behind us, though it's pretty challenging to predict whether we've seen the bottom yet," he told business daily Kauppalehti.
Saari noted that the global economic picture was very different two years ago at the start of the pandemic. "At that time the world's economy closed down for a while but now only a few percent are being shut out. But then again, there's no stimulus now like back then."
Volodymyr Zelensky Street
There have been calls around the world to rename streets where Russian embassies are located in honour of the Ukrainian president.
In Helsinki, activists have taken matters into their own hands, attaching a new street sign on the gate in front of the Russian embassy on Tehtaankatu.
The sign reads "Zelenskyinkatu, Zelenskyjsgatan" in both Finnish and Swedish, according to Hufvudstadsbladet.
Activists in the capital have staged numerous protests in front of the embassy since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The latest All Points North podcast looks at how Finnish politicians, businesses and the public have responded to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
