Finland's food industry facing serious situation: expert

The food industry in Finland is facing a serious situation, Mikko Käkelä, managing director of the Finnish Food and Drink Industries' Federation (ETL), told national broadcaster Yle on Monday, reported Xinhua.

Käkelä attributed the problems to multiple factors, including last summer's weak harvest, logistics problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the sharp rise in the prices of raw materials and energy caused by the Russian-Ukraine conflict.

"The food industry now pays significantly more for primary production than in the past. Consumers must be prepared for the fact that already in autumn food will cost significantly more than before," Yle quoted Käkelä as saying.

Costs are further increased by the industry's efforts to reduce its dependence on imported energy and especially on Russian fossil energy.

These cost pressures have not yet been transferred to the customers of the food industry, namely the retail, catering and public procurement sectors, Käkelä said, adding that "no product group is immune to upward pressure."

He said he expected the challenges to persist for a long time, as cost pressures have not transferred to consumer prices as quickly in Finland as in many other countries.

Even though the food chain is now experiencing major challenges, Käkelä urged people to remain calm and refrain from hoarding food products.

He said that the food self-sufficiency rate in Finland is 80 percent. "We have enough food and drink," he emphasized.

The ETL represents 600 of Finland's 1,800 companies active in the food and drink industries. The food industry employs 38,000 people, and the entire food chain employs about 266,000.