Poor harvest of rye, bumper pea production forecast this year

The rye harvest will be small, whereas the pea harvest will be largest in the history of the statistics in Finland this year, according to the second harvest estimate for 2024 of the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).

The estimated sugar beet harvest was last as large as this ten years ago.

Almost half of Finland’s cultivation area is used for crop production. This year’s total cereal harvest estimate is 3.2 million tons.

Even though the barley area is slightly higher than the oat area, the oat harvest is expected to be a little larger than the barley harvest (1.2 and 1.1 million tons respectively).

Wheat, the third most produced cereal, is expected to have an average harvest of roughly 780,000 tons.

Domestic rye may be in short supply, as its harvest is expected to only cover half of the annual consumption.

The estimated rye harvest will remain at roughly 53,000 tons. The rye harvest shows significant annual variation because heavy rainfall in the autumn may prevent sowing.

The food and feed pea area increased by giant leaps from 2019 until 2023 when the pea area first exceeded sugar beet and rye, then the potato area and last year the turnip rape and rapeseed area. This year, the pea harvest is estimated at more than 100,000 tons, the largest pea harvest in the history of the statistics.

Potato consumption has decreased in Finland decade after decade. As a result, the potato area has decreased, being down to a sixth from the peak area in 1948.

The potato harvest estimate of approximately 550,000 tons corresponds roughly to our annual consumption.

The sugar beet harvest is estimated to be more than 600,000 tons. If this level is reached, the harvest will be largest in ten years. The harvesting of potato and sugar beet takes place late in autumn and has not yet been fully completed.