[ad_1]
news
Overnight, border trade basically died entirely in Haparanda after the Finnish border was closed in March. Something that has strongly affected the local business community.
The border between the assembled cities of Haparanda in Sweden and Tornio in Finland is now vigilant.
Photo: Pär Bäckström / TT
Some industries have lost around 90 percent of their turnover, according to Lena Ekh, Deputy Director General.
Photo: Pär Bäckström / TT
SPECIAL OFFER!
All content in smp.se, minhockey.se, minboll.se, vxoweek.se and the MinSMP app. 5 weeks only 5 SEK! (price per word 1 month SEK 139)
Olga Tauriainen and Helvi Mäntylä (right) are back in Haparanda after being traded in Finnish Torneå. As Finnish citizens, they are allowed to trade across borders on special occasions.
Photo: Pär Bäckström / TT
Border trade in Haparanda is an important part of the local business community.
Photo: Pär Bäckström / TT
– You only notice it looking at the empty parking spaces outside the stores. We hope companies can handle this, says Haparanda municipal director Lena Ekh.
With a commercial index of just over 300, consumption in Haparanda stores corresponds to a city three times larger. According to the Swedish Institute of Commerce and Industry (HUI), retail sales in the city had sales of SEK 2.1 trillion in 2018, and border trade is the center itself.
For Haparanda, consumers come mainly from Finland, but also from Norway and, to a certain extent, from Russia, to buy products such as sweets, tobacco, clothing, furniture and food.
A development that has been powered by a weak Swedish crown.
But now the border between Haparanda and neighboring Torneå, on the Finnish side, is divided by skylights guarded by helicopters, drones and armed guards.
– In normal cases, you do not realize when you change land because they are very short distances. But now it almost feels like a state of war. You don’t even have to give a bit of sausage over the fence, says Lena Ekh.
“Extremely strenuous”
This has had important consequences for both retail and the hotel industry.
– Haparanda is a trade intensive place and now we see very large negative effects on trade. Some industries have lost up to 90 percent of sales, says Ekh.
According to Lena Ekh, how long can the situation continue without bankruptcy and notice is impossible to answer, but points out that the situation is serious.
“The situation is extremely stressful,” she says.
Million rescue package
In order to facilitate local companies, Haparanda, together with the municipalities of Övertorneå and Pajala, has launched a corporate demonstration and decided rescue packages worth SEK 5 million for companies and associations.
This includes the fee waiver, extended payment terms, and the municipality that pays your rent in advance.
However, the effects of closed limits extend beyond purely commercial ones. Socially, the new daily life also means a change for Haparandabor, who in many cases has friends and family on the Finnish side.
– I was in Finland several times the week before, but not now, says Helvi Mäntylä.
He is 72 years old and his two children live in the neighboring country. As a Finnish citizen, she is allowed to enter Finland in special circumstances, but neck problems have prevented her from visiting children.
– It’s no fun that you can’t go to Finland now. That is what many people think, says Helvi Mäntylä.
Is the border loosened?
Lena Ekh describes the atmosphere in the city, with almost 10,000 inhabitants, as silenced.
– It has been a long time since the border was closed and the younger generations have never participated in anything other than open borders. Clearly, this is an important limitation in people’s daily lives.
The Finnish government has already announced that border restrictions to other countries will be relaxed next week. However, exactly what this will mean for Haparanda, Ekh does not currently know.
– You have made a decision but it is not very clear what it means. We hope that the border will be opened and that life will be as usual, says the Deputy Director.
