Tike (Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) compiles an annual summary of the production, domestic use and consumption of the most important food groups in Finland. Last year, Finnish people ate 73.5 kg of meat per capita, i.e. slightly under one per cent more than the year before. The consumption of vegetables and fruit remained approx. 4 per cent below the level of 2005. As to dairy products, the popularity of skimmed milk continued to grow, and yoghurt consumption increased from the year before.

Pork is the favourite meat of Finns

Last year, the total consumption of meat was 73.5 kg per capita. This amount is half a kilo, i.e. less than one per cent more than in 2005. Pork consumption increased by less than a kilo, i.e. by 2.4%. Beef consumption decreased by 0.6%. Poultry meat consumption showed a decline for the first time since it started to rise in the 1970s. Compared to the previous year, the drop was only 0.3 kg or 2%, however. In 2006, the consumption of pork amounted to 34.3 kg, that of beef to 18.5 kg and that of poultry meat to 15.7 kg per capita.


Harvest fluctuations of domestic vegetables visible in consumption

Last year, the consumption of fresh vegetables decreased by slightly under two kilos from the year 2005. In 2005, the good domestic harvest affected consumption. Now the consumption figures returned to the 2004 level, i.e. to 53.3 kg per capita. The consumption of vegetables and fruit was still 1-2 kilos higher than in the first years of the 2000s. The total consumption of vegetables, including canned and frozen vegetables, was 65.3 kg per capita in 2006.

The consumption of citrus fruit grew by 0.6 kg from the year 2005, to 12.7 kg per capita.


The consumption of other fresh fruit decreased by 1.7 kg, to 33.9 kg per capita, which is almost the same amount as two years earlier. The overall consumption of fruit, including conserves, juices and berries, fell by a good four per cent, to 86.4 kg per capita.


Cereal consumption almost unchanged

The total consumption of cereals was on the same level as in 2005, at 78.7 kg per capita. The consumption of wheat fell by a good kilo, i.e. by .5%, to 48.1 kg per capita, however. Wheat consumption decreased now for the fist time, after a period of continuous increase since 2000. Rye consumption increased by a kilo, i.e. by 6.8%, to 16.3 kg per capita. The last time rye consumption was this high was in 1994.


The consumption figures for other cereals were almost the same as in 2005, i.e. 4.4 kg for oats, 0.9 kg for barley and 5.3 kg for rice per capita. Potato consumption fell by less than a kilo, i.e. by 1.5%, to 61.1 kg per capita.


Yoghurt is popular, and so is cheese

The consumption of yoghurt increased by 1.5 kg from the previous year, to 20.6 kg per capita. The consumption of sour milk and viili (curdled milk) continued to fall. The per capita consumption of sour milk was 13.8 kg, i.e. slightly under two per cent less than in 2005. The consumption of viili (curdled milk) fell by 2.5%, to 5.5 kg per capita. In 2006, the total consumption of liquid dairy products was 188.8 kg per capita, i.e. roughly the same as in the previous year.


The trend in the consumption of milk continued to be the same as in previous years. The consumption of skimmed milk increased by 2.8 kg to 48.2 kg per capita. The consumption of whole milk decreased by 0.7 kg to 11 kg per capita. Also the consumption of low-fat milk decreased by 2.6 kg to 80.3 kg per capita. The total consumption of milk, including whole milk on farms, was 142.4 kg (137.6 litres), i.e. 0.7% less than in 2005. The consumption of cream was 6.6 kg per capita, i.e. slightly under one per cent more than in the year before.


The consumption of cheese increased by less than a kilo, to 18 kg per capita. Of the cheese consumed, one third was imported cheese. The consumption of eggs was the same as in 2005, i.e. 9.3 kg per capita


No great changes in fat consumption

The per capita consumption of butter was 2.8 kg, i.e. 0.2 kg more than in the previous year, and that of margarine 7.5 kilo, i.e. 0.1 kg more than in the previous year.

The consumption of butter-vegetable mixtures at 2.8 kg per capita was 0.1 kg lower than in 2005. The con-sumption of vegetable oils at 5.3 kg per capita was approx. 1.5 per cent higher than in the year before


Further information

The Balance Sheet for Food Commodities compiled by Tike, the Information Centre of the Ministry of Agricul-ture and Forestry, includes 11 food groups and also beverages. The Balance Sheet for Food Commodities is compiled annually in accordance with the food groupings of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).


For further information, please contact actuary Tarja Kortesmaa, tel. 020 77 21 372.


The Balance Sheet for Food Commodities is available in printed form. Price: EUR 30 (incl. VAT). The publica-tion can be ordered by telephoning 020 77 21 394 or 020 77 2005 or by emailing tilastojulkaisut@mmmtike.fi