One third of the bioeconomy’s value added comes from the forest sector
In 2022, the bioeconomy accounted for 13 per cent of the value added in the Finnish economy and 11 per cent of employment. Finland’s bioeconomy remains heavily dependent on the forest sector, the sector accounted for 36 per cent of the bioeconomy’s total value added.
According to preliminary data, the value added of the bioeconomy in 2022 was the highest ever recorded at EUR 29.4 billion in current prices. Adjusted for inflation*, the value added of the bioeconomy was eight per cent lower than in the previous year. In real terms, it decreased in almost all sectors except energy and bioeconomy services.
Energy sector continues to thrive
In the energy sector, value added increased by 12 per cent in real terms compared to the previous year. Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine pushed energy prices to record levels.
"Higher energy prices boosted the energy sector, even though the amount of energy produced from bio-based feedstocks decreased", says Tiina Sauvula-Seppälä, Senior Statistician at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).
Bioeconomy services recovering from the COVID-19 crisis
After the downturn caused by COVID-19, bioeconomy services started to recover in 2022. The value added of bioeconomy services amounted to EUR 1.8 billion in current prices, representing six per cent of the total value added of the bioeconomy. The number of people employed in the sector increased by 3,600, returning to pre-pandemic levels.
The forest sector the largest bioeconomy sector
The forest sector accounted for 36 per cent, or EUR 10.5 billion, of the total value added of the bioeconomy. It remained the most important sector in the bioeconomy, despite a decline in forest industry production volumes for all main product groups. In the pulp and paper industry, production volumes were affected by the 112 days of industrial action at the beginning of the year. The industry’s value added fell by 11 per cent compared to the previous year. The forestry sector employed one fifth of the people working in the bioeconomy.
A steep decline in the food sector
The food sector, consisting mainly of agriculture and the food industry, accounted for 16 per cent of the total value added of the bioeconomy. The total value added of the food sector decreased by 14 per cent in real terms from the previous year. In agriculture, value added fell by six per cent, but much less than in many other sectors.
Employment growth in the bioeconomy slower than in the economy as a whole
Last year, the bioeconomy sectors employed 299,300 people, or 11 per cent of the total workforce. Although the number of people employed in the bioeconomy increased by 3,800 compared to the previous year, the rate of growth was slower than in the economy as a whole. Compared to the beginning of the 2010s, the number of people employed in the bioeconomy has decreased by 17,400.
*Changes in the monetary value are based on the wholesale price index. In 2022, wholesale prices increased by an average of 20 per cent from the previous year.
Key terms
- Output at basic price consists of products produced during a calendar year. Output is itemised into three types: market output, output for own use and other non-market output. Non-market output is not taken into account in bioeconomy calculations.
- Value added(gross) refers to the total value generated by units engaged in a production activity. In market production, it is calculated by deducting from the unit’s output the intermediates (goods and services).
- Employed persons in national accounts include all persons drawing a salary and independent entrepreneurs who participate in production activities in the national economy. The statistics are more comprehensive than in workforce surveys, because
