Näringsbalansen 2024 (preliminär) och 2023 slutliga uppgifter
Last year, people in Finland consumed an average of 130 kilograms of liquid dairy products, 78 kilograms of meat, roughly 87 kilograms of cereals, nearly 14 kilograms of fish, 12 kilograms of eggs, 65 kilograms of potatoes, 48 kilograms of fruit and 64 kilograms of vegetables. Of different types of meat, the consumption of beef and poultry increased. Oats consumption has been significant for a long time, and it broke a new record last year. Fish consumption 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 calculation does not indicate the exact amount of food consumption. The figures in the Balance Sheet represent the amount available for consumption rather than actual consumption.
The total consumption of cereals was roughly 87.3 kilograms per capita in 2024, showing an increase of 1.4 kilograms from the year before. The industry used significantly more oats for food than before. According to the calculation, oats consumption reached its peak thus far. The consumption of wheat and barley also increased slightly from the previous year, whereas that of rye decreased but remained slightly higher than oats. Consumption was 49.3 kilograms for wheat, 12.2 for rye, 12.0 for oats, 0.8 for barley, and 7.9 for rice. Rice consumption remained unchanged. Maize, buckwheat and other bread cereals are also included in the total consumption of cereals.
“The use of oats for food has increased considerably, but their use for feed is still higher in Finland,” says Senior Specialist Erja Mikkola.
Beef consumption increased from the previous year
According to preliminary statistics, the total consumption of meat was roughly 78.2 kilograms per capita when game and offal are also taken into account. The consumption of beef, pork, lamb and poultry meat was approximately 76.2 kilograms, compared to about 75.5 kilograms the previous year.
Beef and poultry meat were consumed more than in the previous year, whereas pork and lamb consumption decreased. The consumption of horse and reindeer meat also decreased slightly. While beef consumption has decreased for several years in succession, it was almost four per cent higher than in the previous year, roughly 17.7 kilograms per capita. The long-term growth in poultry meat consumption continued. Last year, it was about 30.7 kilograms per capita, up by roughly three per cent from the year before. Poultry meat already surpassed pork consumption in 2023. Approximately 27.4 kilograms of pork, 0.4 kilograms of lamb, 0.1 kilograms of horse meat and 0.4 kilograms of reindeer meat were consumed per capita. The meat consumption figures reported in the Balance Sheet for Food Commodities have been calculated as uncooked carcass meat with bones, not as meat ready for eating.
Consumption of cheese and butter remained unchanged
The decline in the consumption of liquid milk has continued for a long time, and last year, the consumption decreased by about two per cent. Liquid milk include skimmed, semi-skimmed, whole and raw milk. An average of 85 litres of milk was consumed per capita last year.
“Semi-skimmed milk is consumed the most, followed by skimmed milk. Their consumption decreased by about three per cent according to the Balance Sheet. In contrast, whole milk consumption increased slightly after a lengthy slump. However, whole milk only accounts for some 13 per cent of the consumption of liquid milk products,” says Mikkola.
According to preliminary calculations, the consumption of liquid milk and other liquid dairy products totalled about 130 kilograms per capita last year. Their consumption decreased by roughly two per cent in total. Other fresh dairy products, including puddings and flavoured quarks, are also included in liquid milk products. Their consumption has grown in the long term and also increased last year, up by roughly five per cent.
Last year, cheese consumption was approximately 26.1 kilograms per capita. The consumption increased only slightly from the previous year. Butter consumption has been around three kilograms for several years. Last year, an average of 3.1 kilograms of butter was consumed.
Fish consumption remained at the previous year’s level
According to preliminary data, the total fish consumption was 13.7 kilograms per person in 2024. Fish consumption did not change significantly from the previous year.
Last year, egg consumption was roughly 11.8 kilograms per capita last year, 11.7 kilograms in the year before. The figures also include the use of eggs on farms, as well as eggs purchased directly by consumers from farms. Nearly 30 kilograms of sugar were consumed.
The consumption of fresh fruit was slightly more than 48 kilograms per capita. Citrus fruit accounted for a quarter, almost 12 kilograms, and other fresh fruit for 36.6 kilograms. The total consumption of fresh vegetables was about 64 kilograms per capita, which showed an increase from the previous year. Approximately 11.6 kilograms of tomatoes and 52.4 kilograms of other fresh vegetables were eaten. However, the amount of vegetables consumed is only indicative and also includes potential waste. The domestic production of both tomatoes and other fresh vegetables increased from the previous year. According to Luke’s estimate, the use of potatoes for food has been less than 65 kilograms per capita in recent years.
Compilation of the Balance Sheet for Food Commodities about to end
The compilation of the Balance Sheet for Food Commodities will end, and this is the final publication of the statistics. Previous publications from 2008 can still be found on the statistics website. Data on food consumption from 1950 is available in Luke’s statistics database.
Note: This news article was corrected on 17 June 2025 at 4:45 p.m.
Changes made:
- In the opening paragraph: nearly 11 kilograms of fish → nearly 14 kilograms of fish
- In the subheading: Consumption of fresh and frozen fish decreased → Fish consumption remained at the previous year’s level
- In the body text: According to preliminary data, the total consumption of fish was 10.6 kilograms per capita in 2024. The consumption of fresh and frozen fish was significantly lower than in the previous year. The consumption of canned fish increased slightly. → According to preliminary data, the total fish consumption was 13.7 kilograms per person in 2024. Fish consumption did not change significantly from the previous year.
What is the Balance Sheet for Food Commodities?
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. Usage for food is not calculated by population group in the 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.
