3.6m tons cereal harvest estimated this year

Finland’s cereal harvest will be nearly 3.6 million tons this year, according to current estimation by the Natural Resources Institute Finland’s (Luke).

The barley, oat and wheat harvests will be significantly larger than in the previous year, while the rye harvest will be smaller than average. There will be a record pea harvest, said Luke in a press release.

The current estimates, however, will be confirmed later this year after final harvest data are obtained from farms.

“The Natural Resources Institute Finland’s (Luke) crop production survey will start in October. Finland’s official crop production statistics will be compiled based on the survey, sealing harvest data for 2022 in the over 100-year statistical history,” said Anneli Partala, senior statistician of Luke.

Barley is the most cultivated cereal in Finland. Last year’s barley harvest was the smallest in nearly 50 years, resulting in a shortage of barley on farms and in industries.

This autumn’s barley harvesting has practically been completed, and the harvest volume will be large enough to cover regular domestic consumption. The barley harvest will be about a third larger than in 2021.

The harvest of oats, the second most cultivated cereal in Finland, will be roughly 50 per cent larger than in the previous year.

The oat harvest of some 1.2 million tons will refill the practically empty cereal stocks and cover the growing need for domestic oats. Oat exports are also looking promising this year – annual oat export volumes have been 300,000–400,000 tons.

The wheat harvest will be slightly larger than average at roughly 870,000 tons, showing an increase of almost a third from the previous year.

The rye harvest estimate is at the previous year’s level at less than 70,000 tons. The rye harvest is expected to be a fifth smaller than average, and it cannot cover annual domestic consumption. It is probable that rye will need to be imported before next year’s harvest.

This year’s estimated harvest of peas for human consumption and feed peas will be approximately 90,000 tons. This marks the largest volume during the over 100-year statistical history and is double the 2021 level.

The field pea area of roughly 34,000 hectares, including peas for human consumption and feed peas, has grown during the last couple of years, and is now equal to the rapeseed area and the combined potato and sugar beet area. In addition to field peas, garden peas are grown in Finland over an area of some 5,000 hectares. The majority of the harvest is used to make frozen peas.