Strawberry prices down

Today Tokmanni is offering fresh strawberry 5 kg boxes at € 18.90, the lowest yet.

The only way you get them cheaper would be to go to a nearby farm growing strawberries and collect them yourself. YOu can eat as much as you want while collecting and pay only for what you want to bring home.

These farms are scattered around Oulu, near Muhos, Rukki, etc.

Tomatoes are cheap today

Look around for fresh Finnish tomatoes today. They are cheap in a couple of shops - € 0.89 per kg.

Those strawberries I bought yesterday at € 19.80 for a 5 kg box were delicious. No need for cream, ice cream or sugar. Was chomping on them for most of yesterday.

Some good buys today

Strawberries came on sale about 10 days ago at a price of € 29.90 for 5 kg. The prices stayed up and then dropped to € 24.90 at most shops. Nobody seemed to be giving way.

Then came yesterday's advertising leaflet from Halpa-Halli. They have three shops in Oulu, but only one does foodstuffs, the one at Toppila. They lowered the price to € 19.80 for 5 kg.

I went across today and bought a 5 kg box. I started nibbling at it while I was driving home. They were particularly sweet and before I knew it, I had consumed half the box.

The offer will continue tomorrow, but expect a rather heavy demand. Stocks may be over before noon.

At Citymarket, Fazer chocolates are on offer at € 3.00 for 2 x 200 gm bars. € 0.50 saving per bar. A great buy.

You can get a kilo of Euroshopper sugar at € 0.69 per kg in Citymarket. This is the time Finns need sugar to preserve their strawberries. Sugar prices are usually near a Euro, so this is a excellent buy for sugar lovers.

VIP brand Apple and Orange juices (no water added) are being offered to PLUSSA card holders at 2.00 for 5 cartons, just € 0.40 per carton. This is € 0.35 cheaper than the usual cheapest variety of the same quality. If they run out of VIP, Pirkka, the K-Group label, juices are being offered as an alternate.

You can also buy 5 x 1.5 litres of fizzy drinks (various flavours) at Euro 1 per bottle which includes 0.20 for the bottle. A particularly good offer.

If you are a chicken eater, chicken filet, 400 gm pack, is on offer with the PLUSSA card at just € 1.99 per packet. The usual price is € 3.49, a saving of € 1.50!

Happy shopping.

Raantel OY IS a Best Buy!

One of the tenants, a lady software engineer, who stayed in our Raantel Oy apartments in Oulu returned to India last Sunday after almost 6 months here. Before she left, she sent me this touching email:

"This is just a small note of thanks to you for all the help you have provided in these 8-9 months. Even though I might not have spent hours talking to you but your presence has always made me feel homely. I have never faced any problems as such, but if any, you were always there! It would have been difficult to thrive in a foreign country with lots of insecurity and lack of proper information. With you around nothing was difficult and out of reach. Thanks a lot for everything !"

Raantel Oy Headquarters and Community Centre at Ahmatie 16 in Oulu.

Another lady, who came with her one year old son to be in Oulu where her husband was on an assignment told me at the airport that she so enjoyed her stay with us that even if her husband comes for just a month, she and their son will come with them as they felt so much at home in our apartments and in our company.


Sunita, Karthik and Rajesh leave back for India.

These appreciations shows that Raantel Oy has achieved its objective as THE BEST BUY if you stay with us in our apartments in Oulu, Helsinki or Tampere.


Carom game at the Family Afternoon
at the Raantel Community Centre.

Raantel Oy is not just about giving you an apartment to live in. You become part of our community. With this I think I have achieved what I set out to do!