Organics in Finland

The Organic Market

The development of the organic market has been slow compared to other Western European countries. The market value was 75 M€ in 2009 which is just 1% of the Finnish food retail market. In comparison the market share of organic food in Sweden is 3% and in Denmark 7% while the EU average is 2,5%.

The market share varies greatly between product categories. The highest market shares are in eggs (8%) and vegetable oils (7%). Market shares which are over 3% have been reached in root vegetables, tea, fresh milk, flour, flakes, ketchup and soya sauces. If calculated value based the most important organic product in retail is fresh milk.

The organic value chain in Finland

Primary Production

The number of certified organiuc farmers in Finland is approximately 4000. Even though the number of farmers has decreased over the last years the certified organic acreage has increased. In 2011 7,9% or 180,706 hectares of Finnish field area was certified organic (of which 25.360 ha in transition). The growth rate compared to the previous year was 9%.  The average size of an organic farm has increased by over 1 ha per year and was 44,5 ha in 2011. Organic farms are in average 10% bigger than conventional farms.

As in conventional farms in Finland most of the acreage on organic farms is used for fodder production. 40% of the acreage is grass which is usually dominated red clover.  Roughly one third of the acreage is grain and pulses. Half of the organic grain acreage is oats.

The number of organic animal farms has steadily increased since 2005. In 2010 organic animals were kept on 574 farms. The most common production forms are sucking cow, dairy cattle and sheep. The number of farms producing organic pork and eggs is counted in the tens.

Even though 40% of certified organic farms are animal farms only about one third of those have certified their animal production. Therefore a significant number of organic farms do not bring any organic products to market. The organic grain and fodder produced on those farms is fed to animals on the farm and the animal products – typically meat and milk – are sold as conventional products.

Processed products

According to certification statistics there were 450 certified operators processing or importing organic food in Finland in 2009. If small-scale processing on farms is deducted there remains approximately 250 operators. Only 10 of these have an organic turnover in excess of 10 M€ and almost all are mainstream operators for which organic is a minor part of their overall business.

Retail

Most of the organic products (84%) are sold in mainstream retail channels. This leaves only 16% to other types of outlets: speciality stores, open markets, direct sales etc.

Catering

The importance of organics in the Finnish catering sector is increasing. 16% of catering operators used some organic products in 2009. The share was 28% in restaurants and 13% in the public sector. Catering is not within the scope of the EU organic regulation and Finland has not implemented a certification system for organics in the catering sector. Ekocentria has developed and run the “Steps to Organic” (Portaat Luomuun) program as a voluntary program aimed at helping professional kitchens increase their use of organic products as part of sustainable development. In 2010 500 kitchens – mostly in the public sector – had joined the program. The first step is defined as “At least one (1) significant raw material as an organic product in permanent use in the kitchen. Other organic products in use where practicable.”

Export and Import

Organic product exports in 2009 were estimated to be 14 M€. This represents 1% of Finnish food exports. 40 companies are exporting organic products from Finland – some of them already for several years. The most important Finnish export products originate from the grain sector: oats and oat flakes, wheat flour and bread. Finland is especially strong in organic oats but also Finnish spring wheat and rye are known for their high quality.

There are no statistics on organic imports but we estimate that the share of imported products on the Finnish organic market was roughly 30% (2008) representing a retail value of 22 M€. This includes raw-material imports and products imported as ready retail packed products. The figure does not include alcoholic beverages.

This text was originally written as the Abstract of the  ”Organic Industry Report 2010” (Luomun toimialaraportti 2010) published by Organic Food Finland in 2010.

It is available for download in Finnish here (Link).  

Certification statistics are available from Evira.