What was eaten in Finland in 2023?
Last year, people in Finland consumed an average of 133 kilograms of liquid dairy products, 78 kilograms of meat, 86 kilograms of cereals, 14 kilograms of fish, more than 11 kilograms of eggs, 65 kilograms of potatoes, 52 kilograms of fruit and 57 kilograms of vegetables. The consumption of poultry meat was higher than that of pork for the first time. While oat consumption remained high, it decreased from the previous year. Fish consumption also decreased from the year before. This is indicated by the preliminary data on the Balance Sheet for Food Commodities published by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).
The consumption of liquid milk decreased slightly from the previous year, by less than four per cent. Liquid milk products include skimmed, semi-skimmed, whole and raw milk, of which the consumption of semi-skimmed milk was highest, also showing the most significant decrease of roughly four per cent. An average of 87 litres of milk was consumed per capita last year. Semi-skimmed milk accounted for 56 per cent of the consumption of liquid milk.
“According to preliminary calculations, the consumption of liquid dairy products was roughly 133 kilograms per capita last year. Of these, the consumption of yoghurt and other fresh products, including puddings and quark with additives, increased from the previous year, even though the total consumption of liquid dairy products decreased by roughly two per cent,” says Erja Mikkola, Senior Specialist at Luke.
Cheese consumption was approximately 26 kilograms per capita last year, up by roughly half a kilogram from the previous year. The consumption of butter at three kilograms per capita was close to the previous year’s level.
More cereals consumed than last year, while rye and oat consumption decreased
According to preliminary calculations, the total consumption of cereals was roughly 86 kilograms per capita in 2023, showing an increase of 0.9 kilograms from the year before. The consumption of wheat remained relatively unchanged, while that of rye and oats decreased slightly. In contrast, the consumption of other bread cereals, including buckwheat, increased from the previous year. Consumption was 48.9 kilograms for wheat, 9.7 for oats, 13.0 for rye, 0.7 for barley, and 7.9 for rice.
“According to the balance sheet, oat consumption remained high, even though it has fallen from the peak year of 2020. In recent years, the use of oats for food has been significantly higher than still five years ago. Many new products have been launched on the market, including plant protein products, in which oats are used as ingredients,” Mikkola says.
More poultry meat was consumed than pork
The total consumption of meat was 77.8 kilograms per capita when game and offal are also taken into account. Of this figure, beef, pork, lamb and poultry meat accounted for 75.4 kilograms, while the rest consisted of reindeer meat, horse meat and game. The meat consumption figures reported in the Balance Sheet for Food Commodities are calculated as uncooked carcass meat, i.e. also include bones. Total consumption and the consumption of red meat have already been decreasing for several years. Last year, no significant changes took place in the total consumption of meat. According to preliminary data, the total consumption of meat decreased by 0.6 kilograms, or less than one per cent, from 2022.
Of all types of meat, the consumption of poultry meat was highest at 29.9 kilograms per capita. Its consumption increased from the previous year and was higher than pork consumption for the first time. The increase in poultry meat consumption has been a long-term trend, while it stopped momentarily in 2022, only to start increasing again last year.
Last year, beef consumption was 17.0 kilograms per capita, decrease by roughly two per cent from the year before. The consumption of pork was roughly 28.1 kilograms, showing a decrease of 3.5 per cent. Lamb consumption remained unchanged at half a kilogram per capita. The consumption of horse meat was 0.2 and that of reindeer meat 0.4 kilograms per capita.
The consumption of fish decreased and that of eggs increased from the previous year
According to preliminary data, the total consumption of fish was 14.1 kilograms per capita in 2023. The consumption of fresh, frozen and canned fish combined decreased by a kilogram per capita from the previous year.
Last year, roughly 11.4 kilograms of eggs were consumed per capita, up by half a kilogram from the year before. Sugar consumption decreased from the previous year.
The consumption of fresh fruit was roughly 46 kilograms per capita. Citrus fruit accounted for 11 kilograms and other fresh fruit for 35 kilograms. An estimated 10 kilograms of tomatoes and 47 kilograms of other fresh vegetables were consumed per capita. Last year, the production and import of tomatoes decreased from the year before, and according to the balance sheet, their consumption also fell. The consumption of other fresh vegetables also decreased from the previous year. However, the amount of vegetables consumed is only indicative and also includes potential waste.
According to Luke’s estimate, the use of potatoes for food was 64.6 kilograms per capita last year. In recent years, the annual consumption is estimated to have been 65–70 kilograms per capita. These potato consumption figures are not included in the balance sheet because their calculation is still being specified.
Background to the statistics
The consumption figures of food commodities are based on Luke’s statistics on the Balance Sheet for Food Commodities, containing a summary of the production, domestic use and consumption of the most important categories of food in Finland. The domestic usage of more the 60 products is calculated for the Balance Sheet on the basis of production, changes in stock, exports and imports. Domestic usage is further divided into different purposes: animal feed, use for seeds, industrial raw materials and human consumption. The consumption figures of food commodities are calculated by dividing the human consumption by average population. Consumption is not calculated by population groups on the food balance sheet.
The calculation does not indicate the exact amount of food consumption. The figures in the Balance Sheet for Food Commodities represent the amount available for consumption rather than actual consumption, because volumes of storage losses and other waste, among other things, are not available from all stages of the food chain, in which case they are included in the consumption figures.
The total consumption of meat also includes game and offal. The meat consumption figures reported in the Balance Sheet for Food Commodities also include bones, i.e., they are reported as carcass meat. Typically, carcass meat contains 80 per cent of boneless meat. In addition, cooking loss ranges from 10 to 30 per cent, depending on the product. The weight of cooked meat is around 50 per cent of the weight of carcass meat.
