Documentation of Statistic on the purchase, use and storage of cereals and protein and oilseeds

General description of the statistics

The statistics include the purchase volumes of cereals and protein and oil crops of parties purchasing cereals directly from farmers on a quarterly basis, and the volumes used by industry on a quarterly basis. The statistics also include the stockpiles of parties that purchase and use the aforementioned cereals and crops twice a year. In addition, the statistics include purchase and use volumes by year, six-month period and harvest year. Volumes are also reported divided between regular and organic production.

Classifications

No regional classification is used. The information is presented at a national level.

Coverage

The statistics cover all key parties that purchase, use and stockpile cereals, protein crops, turnip rape and rapeseed with the exception of the smallest enterprises.

Statistical concepts and definitions

Purchases of cereals and protein and oil crops mean the volume which a company has purchased directly from farmers, and for which the purchasing company has paid directly to farmers. Purchased batches are reported as purchases for the statistical period during which they were transported from farms to the first point of receipt. As seed grains have been excluded from the statistics, seed grains produced based on a seed farming agreement are not within the scope of the statistics. Instead, the statistics include organic and other special cereals.

The use of cereals and protein and oil crops means all domestic and imported cereals and protein and oil crops used by industry, divided into regular and organic production whenever possible. Use is indicated according to the first intended use. Use in food production includes the volume of cereals and protein and oil crops produced for human consumption. This includes the volume of cereals used in the production of flour, groats, flakes, chopped products and baking malt. Use in malting includes the volume of cereals used in the production of brewing malt. Use as feed includes the volume of cereals and protein and oil crops used in the production of feed. Other use includes the volume of cereals used in the production of ethanol, starch, glue powder and enzymes, as well as rarer uses of protein and oil crops.

Cereal stocks mean the volumes of wheat, rye, barley and oats in companies’ stockpiles on 30 June and 31 December, with the exception of seed grains. In addition to cereals, the statistics include the combined stock volumes of protein and oil crops.

Volumes of different crops are presented separately whenever possible, considering data protection practices.

Statistical unit

Information is collected for all key parties that purchase cereals and protein and oil crops directly from farmers and use and stockpile them.

Population of the statistics

The population includes all industry enterprises whose volumes of purchased, used or stockpiled cereals and protein and oil crops are estimated to be at least 50,000 kg per year. The population is adjusted at regular intervals.

Measuring unit  

Volumes of purchased cereals and protein and oil crops are presented at an accuracy of 1,000 kg.

Volumes of cereals and protein and oil crops used by industry are presented at an accuracy of 1,000 kg.

Volumes of cereals and protein and oil crops stockpiled by industry and trade are presented at an accuracy of 1,000 kg.

Reference period

Quarter, six-month period, year, harvest year

Distribution frequency

Quarterly

The statistics are compiled based on the Act on the Natural Resources Institute Finland (561/2014), the act on food and natural resource statistics (562/2014) and the Statistics Act (280/2004).

More information: Statistics legislation

Data protection principles

Confidentiality is a base principle of statistics and assures the confidential processing of data provided by informants, and the Natural Resources Institute Finland has undertaken to follow this principle. Micro-data is confidential and must never be released for administrative decision-making, investigation, surveillance, legal proceedings, or similar purposes.

Information security and data protection in the processing of data

The confidentiality of data collected for statistical purposes is guaranteed according to the Statistics Act (280/2004), the Personal Data Act (523/1999), the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999), and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679). Data is protected at all stages of processing using the necessary physical and technological solutions. The staff only has access to information necessary for their duties. Unauthorised people do not have access to spaces in which micro-data is processed. Staff members have signed a non-disclosure agreement when entering duty. Intentional breach of confidentiality will be penalised.

More information: Privacy policy – Statistics

The disseminations of the Natural Resources Institute Finland are published online on weekdays at 9:00.  Data is public after it has been published on the website.

Publication calendar

The publication dates are confirmed in autumn together with the action plans. The release calendar of the following year is published for users in the end of the year. The release calendar holds data on the dates of future publications. The calendar also contains direct links to already published statistical publication.

Access to the publication calendar

Statistical releases calendar | Natural Resources Institute Finland

Quality assurance

In compiling statistics, the National Resources Institute Finland (Luke) complies with the Code of Practice (CoP) for European statistics and the Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) based on it. The CoP concerns the independence and liability obligation of the statistical authorities and the quality of processes and published information. Its principles are compatible with and supplement the principles of official statistics approved by the UK Statistical Commission. In addition, the quality criteria set for the Official Statistics of Finland are compatible with the CoP. Its principles are also compatible with the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM).

Quality evaluation

The response material of the statistics is examined and edited, and the non-response error is analysed (according to different background information).

Accuracy and reliability in general

The information can be considered statistically reliable, because it includes all parties that purchase cereals and protein and oil crops from farms, and all parties that use and stockpile cereals, with the exception of the smallest enterprises.

Timeliness

Enterprises included in the survey transmit information summed up over three months on a quarterly basis by the 20th day of the next month. Information on the purchases and uses of cereals for January–March is published on 10 May, for April–June on 10 August, for July–September on 10 November, and for October–December on 10 February. Information on cereal stocks for June is published on 10 August and for December on 10 February.

Chronological comparability

The statistics were most recently revised in 2021 when the collection of information started to include not only cereals, turnip rape and rapeseed, but also new protein and oil crops. From the beginning of 2021, in addition to the new range of crops, the information has been divided between totals, regular production and organic production whenever possible considering data protection. However, the statistical data are partly comparable all the way back to the 1970s. Regarding the comparability of the information content, it is worth noting that from April 2022, grits are no longer included in the statistics of the use of protein and oil crops.

In the 2009 revision, information on cereal purchases from farms replaced the previous cereal trade statistics. Previously, information on cereal purchases from farms was collected once a year for six-month periods. The information included in the statistics was revised so that the information was collected from industries that used cereals and enterprises engaged in cereal trade on a quarterly basis. Time series can be generated based on six-month information, taking into account that seed grains were excluded from the statistics during the revision.

Information on the use of cereals by industry started to be collected on a quarterly basis. Before 2009, information on the use and stockpiling of cereals was published monthly. The division of uses of cereals has been simplified: in the new statistics, they include food production, malting, feed and other uses. Information preceding 2009 is compatible so that food production in the new statistics corresponds to grinding for food in the previous statistics and use as feed corresponds to the use of cereals in the feed industry. In addition, the total use of cereals is compatible with previous years.

Regarding information on cereals stockpiled by industry and trade, the new statistics have more coverage than the previous monthly stockpiling statistics. For the new statistics, information is collected twice a year, starting from the 2009 statistical year, and it is not comparable with the previous statistics.

When the cereal statistics was transferred from the State Granary to Statistics Finland, the period for cereal trade statistics changed from one month to the harvest and calendar year. In addition, the survey population and principles underwent a minor change. However, this did not affect the content of the statistics. Before 1995, the statistics represented cereal purchases by end users, which means that information on cereals purchased from cereal intermediaries was requested. Since 1996, the statistics have only represented the volume of cereals purchased from farmers, meaning that cereal intermediaries also report this volume.

In 1995, the survey principles applied to the statistics on the use and stockpiling of cereals also underwent minor changes that did not have any significant impact on the content of the statistics. Before 1995, the volume of cereals used by fodder producers did not include cereals ground for human consumption. Since 1995, they have been included in the statistics.

Source data

Mills, fodder producers and other enterprises, cereal intermediaries and cereal cooperatives that purchase and use cereals and protein and oil crops.

Data collection frequency

Information about purchases and use is requested through a statistical questionnaire on a quarterly basis and stockpile information every six months.

Data collection method

Luke requests trade and industrial enterprises to provide information on the volumes of cereals and protein and oil crops purchased directly from farmers. Data providers include mills, malting plants, fodder producers and other enterprises that purchase and use cereals. Trade enterprises include cereal intermediaries that purchase cereals directly from farmers and distribute them to other enterprises. Information on cereal purchases is also requested from the intervention unit of the Agency for Rural Affairs. Seed companies are not among the data sources for these statistics.

Validation of data

If an unusually high or low finding is discovered during data processing, the accuracy of the finding will be verified. 

Processing of data

If information is not obtained on time from a mill or company for quarterly statistics, the missing information will be imputed using the averages calculated from the previous quarters’ information obtained from the mill or company. The information will be adjusted in the statistics immediately after it has been obtained from the mill or company.