A warehouse storing one-fifth of the country’s seed potatoes burned down in Finland

In northern Finland, a fire broke out on Friday evening at a warehouse complex in the town of Tyrnävä, in the province of North Ostrobothnia. According to the broadcaster Yle, four warehouses there burned down, storing more than 4,000 tons of potatoes.

The destroyed warehouse complex covered an area of more than 4,000 sq. m and contained one-fifth of Finland’s entire seed potato stock. City firefighters said that completely extinguishing the fire will take several days.

The cause of the fire has not yet been specified. Finland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry convened an emergency meeting to discuss measures to restore the seed potato stock.

According to authorities, restoring the reserves could take several years. Finland’s Food Agency director Hanna Kortemaa said the fire could significantly affect the potato market in European countries in the coming years.

Yle also noted that in Europe there are only four regions with a high concentration of seed potato production. In addition to Finland, these include the Azores, Ireland, and Germany.