Organic food may not be cheap, but that does not deter Finnish consumers. In 2011 sales rose more than 50 percent, and this year’s increase is predicted to be at least as large. The market for organic goods is therefore estimated to be worth nearly 200 million euros.
”All of these ethical, animal welfare and additive discussions are definitely strengthening interest as well,” said Marja-Riitta Kottila, who heads up the organic lobby group Pro Luomu. ”Now consumers have a reasonable chance to buy organic products.”
Regional director of the S Group retail chain, Anne-Marie Wallenius, said that shops have directed resources at the sector, stocking many of the new products that have recently entered the market.
The most popular organic products are eggs, milk products, vegetables, fruit, and dry goods such as flour. Despite the rising interest, organic products still represent a small share of total grocery spending.
A lack of organic meat production capacity also stymies growth and leaves demand unmet, according to Jari Etelätähti of the Eat&Joy organic and local food retailer.
Some 113 new farms were authorised to rear animals organically this year, which may go some way towards feeding urban Finns' hunger for ethical meat. That demand is in part down to a string of controversies over animal welfare.
Some concern was prompted by an expose by Talouselämä journalist Elina Lappalainen, who wrote Syötäväksi kasvatetut, Miten ruokasi eli elämänsä (Bred to be Eaten: How Your Food Lived its Life) detailing the conditions animals experienced on many Finnish farms.
