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### Viewing cable 08HELSINKI238, IMPACT OF RISING FOOD/COMMODITY PRICES -

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
08HELSINKI238 | 2008-05-30 10:10 | 2011-04-24 00:12 | UNCLASSIFIED | Embassy Helsinki

`

    VZCZCXRO6856
    RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBW RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
    RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
    DE RUEHHE #0238/01 1511037
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    R 301037Z MAY 08
    FM AMEMBASSY HELSINKI
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4343
    INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HELSINKI 000238

    DEPARTMENT FOR EEB/TPP/ABT/ATP: JANET SPECK
    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: EAGR EAID ETRD ECON PGOV PREL FI
    SUBJECT: IMPACT OF RISING FOOD/COMMODITY PRICES -
    FINLAND

    REF: STATE 39410

    ¶1. The following is Embassy Helsinki's response to
    reftel regarding the impact of rising food/commodity
    prices in Finland.  Post has done no previous
    reporting on this subject.

    DEMAND

    ¶2. The most important agricultural commodities
    consumed in Finland are milk, meat and grains, and the
    most significant agricultural products produced are
    milk, meat, eggs, cereals and potatoes. Finland is
    self-sufficient in milk and milk products, as well as
    in meat and eggs.  The degree of self-sufficiency in
    grain varies, depending on the harvest.  Price
    developments on the domestic market for these products
    have been consistent with international price
    developments.  Prices of wheat have increased by 70
    percent in the past 12 months, barley prices 63
    percent, rye and oatmeal 30 percent, milk prices 14
    percent, pork prices 11 percent and beef prices are
    about 6 percent higher. According to the Finnish Tax
    Payers' Association, food prices rose overall by an
    average of seven percent year-on-year in April 2008.

    ¶3. In Finland peaks in food prices occur three times a
    year, as the food industry conducts price negotiations
    with retailers every four months, with the first
    agreement being made in early January and the next
    around first of May. While Finnish grains production
    benefits from the high price levels, economical
    benefits in meat and milk production are offset by
    high feed costs, caused by the high prices on grains.

    ¶4. Higher prices on grains, meat and milk have led to
    higher food prices in Finland. Rising food prices are
    starting to affect the buying habits of Finns.
    According to a poll by Finnish regional daily
    Aamulehti, 25 percent of Finns have started to reduce
    the consumption of meat, pastries and sweets, whereas
    consumption of bread, fruit and vegetables have been
    largely unaffected by the rising prices.

    SUPPLY

    ¶5. In 2007/2008, total grains area in Finland amounted
    to 1,130,000 hectares, a small decrease compared to
    the year before. In 2008/2009, an increase of about 5
    percent is expected due to favorable prices.

    ¶6. Finland's largest milk processor Valio increased
    the producer price for milk by five cents per liter in
    May. This is the third successive increase within 12
    months, as last autumn the producers received an
    additional three cents per liter, and at the turn of
    the year another five cents. Price adjustment is
    needed to ensure that dairy farming remains viable in
    Finland, and Valio has pledged that the increase will
    be shifted directly to milk producers.

    ¶7. Last year around one thousand dairy farms in the
    country ended operations. Not all closed down because
    of financial problems. They say that it is impossible
    to find enough people willing to work the long hard
    hours that dairy farming demands.

    POLITICAL IMPACT

    ¶8. In August 2007, the Finnish meat industry took a
    positive stance on the use of GMOs (Genetically
    Modified Organisms) by abandoning its voluntary ban on
    Genetically Modified (GM) feed.  The decision was
    taken as a response to the rising prices of non-GM
    feed.  The decision was met with unexpectedly strong
    media reactions in Finland which caused the Finnish
    Minister of Agriculture, Sirkka-Liisa Anttila, to call
    for voluntary labeling of meat from animals fed with
    GM feed.  The major part of Finnish feed use is still
    GM free, but further rising feed prices might increase
    incentives for using cheaper GM feed.

    ECONOMIC IMPACT

    ¶9. Finland's inflation rate has surged this spring due
    to the rise in global food prices and energy prices,
    but the  rate is expected to come down as economic
    activity weakens. In April, inflation slowed down to
    3.5 percent from the 3.9 percent observed in March
    2008 due to lower vegetable prices and more moderate
    price increases for liquid fuels, the National

    HELSINKI 00000238  002 OF 002

    Statistics Agency reported. On an annual basis higher
    housing and food costs fueled price rise pressure,
    while cheaper cars and computers curbed inflation.

    ¶10. Finland, which has long aimed to smooth out
    significant class differences in its generous welfare
    state, has experienced growing income disparity in
    recent years, leaving the poor trailing ever further
    behind. Charities report that in the space of just one
    month, from March to April this year, the number of
    people queuing for food and other assistance had
    doubled to more than 1,000 people. Higher food prices
    bring longer breadlines as increasing numbers of
    people in the Helsinki region and other areas queue up
    for free food. About two tons of European Union food
    aid is distributeQo the poor in Finland each year.
    In addition to the EU, private helpers distribute food
    donated by shops and companies in different parts of
    the country.

    ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

    ¶12. Rising food prices have so far had no
    environmental impact in Finland. However, higher food
    prices could hurt Baltic Sea water quality says Markku
    Ollikainen, University of Helsinki Environmental and
    Resource Economics Professor. Ollikainen fears the
    sharp rise in food prices in recent months could start
    a sequence of events in motion that might sharply
    increase the amount of nutrient emissions polluting
    the Baltic Sea. The rise in food prices is partly the
    result of increased demand, which leads to an increase
    in the amount of arable land, and growth in raising
    domestic animals, both of which directly increase
    nutrient emissions. Ollikainen estimates that Finnish
    fields emit an average of 11 kilos of nutrients per
    hectare into the Baltic Sea, but adds that the
    nutrients emanating from Finnish agriculture are
    nevertheless a fairly minor factor in the whole Baltic
    equation, with the exception of coastal areas.

    GOVERNMENT POLICY RESPONSE

    ¶13. As a member of the European Union, Finland adheres
    to EU legislation on agriculture.  In order to balance
    the European grains market, the EU has removed the
    mandated set aside requirement of 10%.  Other measures
    include a temporary suspension of import duties on
    grains.

    ¶14. Value Added Tax (VAT) on food is set to decrease
    from 17 percent to 12 percent in the autumn of 2009,
    as outlined by the government program. The Center
    Party has urged the government to accelerate plans to
    cut taxes on food and stated that this should be a
    higher priority than cutting income taxes, as
    inflation and the global food crisis have put a
    serious dent in consumer purchasing power.

    ¶15. In March 2008 Finland responded to the World Food
    Program's (WFP) urgent appeal for additional donations
    to alleviate the world's food shortage, and in
    addition to the general cash allocation of 9.25
    million USD, announced an additional donation of 9.25
    million USD for humanitarian assistance through the
    WFP.

    IMPACT ON POST PROGRAMS

    ¶16. Post has no outward-focused programs that would be
    affected.

    POLICY PROPOSALS
    ¶17. None

    BARRETT

`