People also consumed more fruits and vegetables last year.
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Image: Esa Syväkuru / Yle
People in Finland consumed less fish in 2024 than they did the previous year, according to preliminary data from Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).
Fish consumption amounted to just under 11kg per person in 2024, while the previous year the figure was around 17kg.
Published on Tuesday, the institute’s Balance Sheet for Food Commodities pointed out, however, that its figures represent the amount of food available for consumption, not the exact consumption amount.
The institute report said that people in Finland consumed an average of 130kg of liquid dairy products, 78kg of meat, 87kg of cereals, and almost 11kg of fish last year.
It went on to say that people consumed 12kg of eggs, 65kg of potatoes, 48kg of fruit and 64k of vegetables. Consumption of beef and poultry increased, year-on-year.
Oats and meat
People consumed more than 12kg of oats last year, reflecting an increase of around 2kg compared to the previous year. Meat consumption was also up, the institute said.
“The use of oats for food has increased considerably, but their use in animal feed is still higher in Finland,” Luke’s Senior Specialist Erja Mikkola said in a press release.
As in recent years, the consumption of liquid dairy products declined by around two percent last year to an average of 85 litres. That category included skimmed, semi-skimmed, as well as whole and raw milk.
Milk and cheese
“Semi-skimmed milk is consumed the most, followed by skimmed milk. Their consumption decreased by about three percent according to the Balance Sheet. In contrast, whole milk consumption increased slightly after a lengthy slump. However, whole milk only accounts for some 13 percent of the consumption of liquid milk products,” Mikkola explained in the release.
Cheese consumption stood at an average of approximately 26.1kg per capita, reflecting “only a slight” increase over 2023, it said.
Butter consumption has stood at around three kilograms per person for several years now, while last year the figure was 3.1kg.
Fruits and veg
People consumed more fresh fruit last year, slightly more than 48kg per capita, with citrus fruits accounting for around a quarter of fruit consumption in the country.
People ate around 64kg of vegetables per capita, which was also an increase.
Luke noted that this will be the final Balance Sheet for Food Commodities that it publishes. The institute said it would publish the final 2024 figures in the autumn.