On average, every Finn consumed 183 kilos of liquid dairy products, 81 kilos of fruit and berries, 80 kilos of cereals, 76 kilos of meat and 68 kilos of vegetables in 2010. This information is presented in the preliminary Balance Sheet for Food Commodities 2010, which is compiled by the Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Tike).

No significant change in the consumption of milk products

Finns consumed an average of 183 kilos of liquid dairy products per capita in 2010. They drank a total of 131 litres of milk per capita. Of this total, approximately 50 percent was low-fat milk and nearly 40 percent was skimmed milk. The consumption of sour milk was approximately 12 litres per capita. Compared to 2009, the consumption of milk and sour milk decreased by about 1 percent. Finns ate approximately 23 kilos of yoghurt per capita in 2010, which is 4 percent more than in 2009. The consumption of cream and Finnish curd milk increased by about 2 percent. Finns consumed approximately 7 litres of cream and 5 kilos of curd milk per capita in 2010.

Meat consumption increased in 2010

After a decrease in 2009, the total consumption of meat increased by 3 percent. In 2010, Finns consumed about 4 percent more beef and poultry than in 2009. The consumption of pork increased by more than 1 percent. On average, Finns consumed 34.9 kilos of pork, 18.6 kilos of beef and 18.2 kilos of poultry per capita in 2010. Including game and offal, the total annual consumption of meat was 76 kilos per capita.

Wheat constitutes the majority of cereals consumption

The total consumption of cereals was almost 80 kilos per capita, which is approximately the same as in 2009. The consumption of wheat decreased by almost 2 kilos, but an increase in the consumption of other cereals – mainly rye and oats – compensated for this trend. The annual total included 46 kilos of wheat, 16 kilos of rye, 5 kilos of oats and 5 kilos of rice per capita.

Finns ate fewer fresh vegetables, but more fruit

Finns consumed approximately 56 kilos of fresh vegetables per capita in 2010. This was about 5 percent less than in 2009, but on the same level as in 2008. Including frozen and canned vegetables, the total consumption of vegetables was approximately 68 kilos per capita.

Compared to 2009, the consumption of fruit increased by approximately 2 percent. Including canned products and juices, the total consumption of fruit and berries was 81 kilos per capita. The consumption of citrus fruit decreased by 2 percent to approximately 13 kilos. The consumption of other fresh fruit increased by slightly over 4 percent to 34.5 kilos per capita.

Background information

Compiled by Tike, the Balance Sheet for Food Commodities summarises the production, domestic use and consumption of Finland’s most important food commodity groups. The balance sheet lists a total of 12 food commodity groups. It contains annual domestic use figures for more than 70 products, showing production, changes in stocks, exports and imports. Domestic use is divided by purpose of use into animal feed, seed use, industrial raw materials and food. The figures for annual per capita consumption are based on food products purchased for use as food.

The statistical tables related to this press release are available at the Matilda Agricultural Statistics Service under Balance sheet for food commodities.

More information:

Actuary Tarja Kortesmaa, tel. +358 20 77 21 372

Email: firstname.lastname@mmmtike.fi