Statistics of food consumption in Finland in 2017

Last year, people in Finland consumed an average of 160 kilograms of liquid milk products, 81 kilograms of meat, 80 kilograms of grains, 65 kilograms of fruit and 64 kilograms of vegetables. This is indicated by the advance information on the Balance Sheet for Food Commodities published by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).

The total consumption of meat remained roughly at the previous year's level, 81 kilograms per capita, when game and edible offal are also taken into account. The consumption of poultry meat increased by six per cent from 2016. The consumption has now been increasing for more than ten consecutive years. The consumption of beef also increased - by one per cent from the previous year. In contrast, the consumption of pork decreased by almost four per cent from the previous year.

"In 2017, an average of 19.4 kilograms of beef, 33.4 kilograms of pork and 24.9 kilograms of poultry meat was consumed per capita," says senior statistician Tarja Kortesmaa at Luke.

The consumption of milk kept decreasing

The consumption of milk decreased by an average of five per cent from the previous year. There was a drastic decrease in the consumption of skimmed milk, more than 14 per cent. The consumption of low-fat milk remained almost unchanged from the previous year, while the consumption of whole milk increased by seven per cent having been on the decline for a couple of years.

"All in all, approximately 112 liters of milk was consumed per capita last year, of which one-third was skimmed milk, 56 per cent was low-fat milk and just over ten per cent was whole milk," Kortesmaa continues.

The consumption of sour milk and curdled milk (viili) decreased by approximately six per cent. The consumption of yogurt remained roughly at the previous year's level. Cream consumption increased by approximately six per cent. In 2017, the total consumption of liquid milk products was 160 kilograms per capita, approximately four per cent less than in the previous year.

The consumption of cheese decreased by a couple of per cent from the previous year to just under 26 kilograms. The consumption of butter was of the same order as in the previous year, 3.5 kilograms. Almost 12 kilograms of eggs were consumed per capita.

Oats a popular cereal in Finland

The total consumption of cereals increased by just under one per cent from the previous year to 80 kilograms per capita. The consumption of oats increased by one kilogram to 7.3 kilograms and that of rice by 0.2 kilograms to six kilograms per capita. The consumption of wheat and rye remained almost unchanged from the previous year, at 44.5 and 15.5 kilograms, respectively.

Consumption of fruit and vegetables

The consumption of citrus fruits decreased by ten per cent to 13 kilograms per capita. The consumption of other species of fresh fruit remained almost unchanged at 46 kilograms. Just under seven kilograms of fruit preserves and dried fruit were consumed per capita. The consumption of fresh vegetables last year is estimated at approximately 64 kilograms per capita. However, this figure also includes possible waste.

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, export 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 the average population in the year.

The total consumption of meat also includes game and edible 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% of boneless meat. In addition, the cooking loss ranges from 10 to 30%, depending on the product. The weight of cooked meat is around 50% of the weight of carcass meat.

Using this method for compiling statistics, the consumption figures of certain products, such as vegetables, are only indicative. They describe the quantity available for consumption, rather than the actual consumption, because no figures are available for storage losses and other waste, which is why they are included in the consumption figures.