Maataloustieteellinen A ikakauskirja Vol. 57: 231—237, 1985 Consumption and production of herbs in Finland SEIJA HÄLYÄ Department of Horticulture *, University of Helsinki* SF-00710 HELSINKI, Finland Abstract. A study on the consumption and production of spice and medicinal herbs in Finland was carried out in 1983. There are approximately 150 commercial herb plant growers in Finland. Most of the farmers grow leafy herbs; only ten percent grow seed (botanically also fruit) spices e.g. caraway and mustard. The total cultivation area for leafy herbs is 30 hectares; for dill 14 and for parsley 12 hec- tares. Seed spices are grown on 130 hectares, most of this is devoted to mustard. Finland is almost self sufficient for fresh dill and parsley, but dry herbs are mostly imported. Self-sufficiency of caraway is 40 % and mustard 20 % while the other herbs and spices are also mostly imported. The total herb and spice import in 1982 was approximately 30 million Finnmarks, half of which was for the import of the so-called exotic spices. The total import of those herbs that could be cultivated in Finland was 17 million FIM. The most promising of these being mustard, garlic, chamomile, mints, dill and parsley. Index words: herbs, medicinal and spice plants, consumption, production Inlroduction During the last few years there has arisen all over the developed world a growing interest in spice and medicinal plant use and cultiva- tion. So far the production in Finland has been limited, although it has been found that the aroma and vitamin content is high in herbs and vegetables grown in the north. In addi- • The study was carried out as a thesis of Agricultural Politics at the Department of Agricultural Economics in the University of Helsinki. tion the air here is cleaner than in the densely populated industrialised countries of Middle Europe, from which most of the herbs are im- ported to Finland. Moreover the cultivation of herbs in our country would give a suitable alternative means of living for some small- scale farmers in the present complicated situa- tion of over supply of nearly all the agricul- tural products. The present study comprises a part of the FINNISH RESEARCH PROJECT ON HERBS (1983 —1985) financed mainly by the 231 JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN FINLAND https://www.c-info.fi/en/info/?token=Hr2crWFZtj1D1seu.ozdHijVt3gVBf7zsYz978A.2Vr1q9NCOMtlI-zJbzHV-g7SzwmnFS_bO1IcZKQH8t6vreXRlhLBwmc7wQXLzHnYbV6KjPKS4wUBRZUJKLiFUALV5mU_sZX0lHbg5t9GunXxURlnnAg1NQsey7eUo9-O0Jp-BXH6Ie77EnHF8x2O-qY912uUe8jSFbija_02VvL6YxY Finnish Academy of Sciences and by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. It was carried out in order to provide basic informa- tion in the use of spices and medicinal plants and degree of self-sufficiency in Finland. So far the basic statistics on horticultural con- sumption and production is deficient espe- cially on plants grown in small scale. Materials and methods The following information was collected: The species of herbs grown, the production areas and yields in 1983, the labour force and market conditions. The information was col- lected by interviewing the growers on the tele- phone and with the help of farmers’ organi- zations. Furthermore a questionnaire was delivered to 24 major wholesale and co-operative mar- keting firms and also to the foodmarketing industry in order to obtain the statistics on herb and spice use. Questions about the use of spices in the years 1980—1982 and the for- cast for 1985 and 1990 were included. The household survey of the Central Statistical Office of Finland provided the statistics on home-use. Import information was collected from the foreign trade statistics and from a separate survey carried out by the statistics section of the Board of Customs. The latter was carried out to receive information on individual species, which are placed, in the foreign trade statistics, under larger groups of species. Consumption The main herb users are the food and alco- hol industry, and domestic consumers. Also the pharmaceutical industry uses medicinally important herbs. The wholesale value and quantity during the period 1980—1982 is shown in table 1. Also the three years’ Table 1. The amount (tonnes) and value (1000 FIM) ofherb consumption, mean wholesale price (FIM/kg), range of price variation and self sufficiency in the years 1980—1982 in Finland. Species 1980 1981 1982 Mean Self suff. t FIM t FIM t FIM PnCe Var. % Angelica 5.1 61.4 4.2 38.6 4.7 51.2 10.7 5.0—13.8 10 Aniseed 11.6 118.2 15.8 249.5 22.5 317.8 13.4 7.8—38.6 0 Basil 3.0 21.3 4.9 35.9 5.2 51.4 8.1 6.4—91.8 0 Caraway 34.4 253.0 38.4 278.1 45.3 363.2 7.5 4.2—22.9 <4O Chives air dried 0.8 26.6 0.4 13.8 0.8 26.4 33.8 31.7—35.5 4 freeze dried 0.2 20.8 0.4 66.3 0.5 81.8 140.6 88.9—176.0 0 Coriander 14.6 34.8 14.1 49.5 15.7 80.6 3.6 1.8—11.1 0 Dill fresh 14.0 93.0 9.5 76.1 24.0 177.3 7.3 4.0—29.1 98 dry 11.0 475.3 3.5 122.9 10.9 352.3 28.5 19.0—186.1 <1 Fennel 7.1 26.4 13.8 49.7 14.2 85.4 4.4 2.9—14.9 0 Marjoram 4.8 50.0 5.7 54.3 4.2 55.2 11.0 6.5—50.0 0 Mustard 378.4 883.0 380.9 888.4 452.9 1276.9 2.5 1.9—13.0 <2O Parsley fresh 10.6 81.4 9.4 80.4 21.5 202.2 8.4 6.8—50.0 99 dry 4.3 188.4 3.0 36.3 6.2 68.1 22.3 13.0—155.0 5 Rosemary 1.7 12.1 2.5 21.2 2.5 19.3 7.8 5.0—46.2 0 Sage 0.6 14.3 0.8 10.0 1.3 9.2 14.1 4.5—51.8 0 Savory 0.3 13.0 0.4 7.5 0.6 10.6 29.1 13.7—128.6 0 Tarragon 0.9 64.1 1.1 78.9 2.0 125.9 58.2 35.0—130.9 0 Thyme 2.0 33.1 2.7 26.3 1.0 11.2 12.5 7.1—112.8 0 Others* 4.1 5.0 5.2 0 Total 506.3 2499.7 512.9 2215.2 657.6 3407.3 * = hyssop, chamomile, lavender, oregano, common balm and yarrow 232 233 weighted mean price and the range of varia- tion is shown. Prices vary according to sample size and quality, and are also dependant on world-market prices. The percentage of self sufficiency has been calculated according to the consumption in 1982. Table 1 is based on the questionnaire, and does not contain the total consumption in Finland as will be no- ticed when comparing with the import statis- tics in table 2. The largest demand in Finland are for the following species: aniseed (Pimpinella anisum L.), caraway (Carum carvi L.), mustard (Sinapis sp., Brassica sp.), dill (Anethum graveolens L.) and parsley (Petroselinum sp.). All of these except aniseed are cultivated in Finland on small scale. Domestic supplies are small except in the case of fresh dill and parsley. Dry dill and parsley are mainly im- ported. Self-sufficiency of caraway is 40 % and that of mustard 20 °7o. The production of other herbs in scarce, with 16 % species in- cluded in the questionnaire being imported only. Herb consumption has increased steadily in the 1980’s, with a further rise by approxi- mately 5 % predicted for 1985. Forcasting the consumption in 1990 from the results of the questionnaire has appeared to be an impos- sible task. Greenhalgh(l979) has studied the spice market in Europe, The UnitedStates and Japan. He states that the herb consumption will increase by approximately 10 % per year. Herb demand will grow faster than for other flavourings. The demand for dill, basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) marjoram (Origanum majorana L.), oregano (Origanum vulgare L.), mints (Mentha sp.) and tarragon (Arte- misia dracunculus L.) will increase most pre- dominantly. The household survey includes many groups with spices and herbs. The survey in 1981 (Anon. 1984) includes also a group consisting of dill and spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), parsley and chives (Allium schoenoprasum L.). A family consumed these products on the average of the value of 8.2 FIM per year. When the ten income groups are surveyed it Table 2. Import of some herbs in 1982. Species Amount Value tonnes 1000 FIM Aniseed, Pimpinella anisum L. 17.5 236.0 Angelica, Angelica archangelica L. 0.1 0.9 Basil, Ocimum basilicum L. 6.6 51.3 Caraway, Carum carvi L. 23.0 139.0 Chamomile, Matricaria recutita L. 8.7 521.1 Chervil, Anlhriscus cerefolium (L.) Hoffm. 0.5 12.5 Common balm, Melissa officinalis L. 0.2 8.5 Coriander, Coriandrum sativum L. 34.1 139.0 Dill, Anethum graveolens L. 352.0 Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare Mill. 9.3 74.0 Garlic, Allium sativum L. 221.0 3 403.0 Hop, Humulus tuputus L. 261.0 7 630.0 Hyssop, Hyssopus officinalis L. 0.1 0.6 Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia Mill. 0.3 9.1 Marjoram, Origanum majorana L. 4.0 55.2 Marygold, Calendula officinalis L. 0.1 1.7 Mints, Mentha sp. 3.0 218.0 Mustard , Sinapis sp., Brassica sp. 773.0 3 375.0 Nettle, Urtica sp. 2.7 17.4 Parsley, Petroselinum sp. 53.0 Peppermint, Mentha x piperita L. 5.0 179.6 Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis L. 2.0 14.2 Sage, Salvia officinalis L. 0.9 13.9 Savory, Sotureja hortensis L. 0.1 0.6 Tarragon, Artemisia dracunculus L. 1.1 53.0 Thyme, Thymus serpyllum L. 1.8 19.9 Yarrow, Achillea millefolium L. 0.4 2.9 Total 16 542.1 is noticed that the herb consumption (B, C) clearly increases in proportion to the increase in income (figure 1). The trend with mustard is opposite. The income groups in figure 1 are based on the disposable income for each family member (1 = least income, 10 = most income). In the other groups including spices and herbs this trend is not so clear. Production in Finland The herb cultivation area was 28 hectares in 1983. Since then the total area is supposed to have increased somewhat. Dill and parsley are the most widely grown herbs (table 3). The total dill area was 14 hectares, with 16 000 square metres in greenhouses. The average dill yield in the open field was 65 kg/100 m 2 and in the greenhouses 1.7 kg/m2 . According to the literature the average yield in the open field is 100 kg/100 m 2 (Anon. 1983). Parsley was produced on 12 hectares yield- ing 112 kg/100 m 2. The area under glass was 12 000 square metres yielding ca. 5 kg/m 2 . In the litterature the corresponding average yield has been 2.5 —4 kg/m 2 , depending on the sowing time. The total dill and parsley production in 1983 was 350 tonnes. The total chives area was 6000 m 2 yielding 4 tonnes, most of which was grown during the winter in greenhouses. Mar- joram was cultivated on less than 1000 m 2, the total yield being 700 kg. In addition to the above mentioned herbs, just over one hectare is used for the cultiva- tion of 20 more species. Caraway and mustard are the most com- mon of the seed spices. The total area under Table 3. Herb cultivation in Finland in 1983. Species Hectares Species Hectares (herbs) (seeds) Dill 14.0 Mustard 105 Parsley 12.0 Caraway 25 Chives 0.6 Marjoram 0.1 Others 1.0 Total 27.7 130 cultivation is 130 hectares. Caraway was cul- tivated on 25 hectares yielding 24 tonnes. Ac- cording to the farmers the average yield is 1300kg/ha. Mustard was grown on more than 100 hectares, the total production of which was 150tonnes in 1983. The average yield was 1500 kg/ha. The average yields are corre- sponding to those in Denmark and England (Anon. 1974, 1980). Imports The value of spice and herb imports in 1982 was more than 30 million FIM. Almost half of this was for so-called exotic spices. The import of dried hop (Humulus lupulus L.), mustard, garlic, chamomile (Matricaria recu- tita L.), mints, dill and aniseed was highest in value (table 2). The value of mustard import was 3.4 mFIM. Halfof this consists of rendered mus- tard, the import of which has increased sub- stantially during the past ten years, being 200 tonnes in 1982. Import of mustard seeds has been rather stable varying around 550 tonnes annually. The former is imported mostly from Denmark and Great Britain, the latter from Denmark, the Netherlands, Canadaand West Germany. The import of caraway in 1973 was about 65 tonnes. After that the import has decreased and varied between 20 and 30 tonnes a year, the value being more than 100 000 FIM. Po- land, the Soviet Union, Denmark and the Netherlands were the main sources of supply. Features of herb production The herbs are cultivated mostly in unde- veloped countries where the labour costs are relatively low. France is the most important producer amongst the western countries. The middleEuropean countries often transport the raw material from the developing countries and resell the product raw and processed. Greenhalgh (1979) states that herb-pro- duction in the short term will become increas- Fig. I. Consumer costs (FIM) per household according to the income groups in 1981 (1 = the least in- come, 10 = the maximum income). A = mustard B = dill, parsley, spinach, chives C = the other vegetables including spicy ones 234 ingly uneconomical in the western countries due to the landand labour costs. In the longer term capital-intensive production systems will be developed and even though the cost per unit will be higher than in developing countries the quality and savings on the freight rates will counterbalance the price difference in the con- suming countries. There are about 150 herb growers in Fin- land. This field is the main occupation for ten families among the interviewed farmers. Dur- ing the growing season the 67 interviewed has a total of 25 employees (Ahvenanmaa was not included). Table 4 presents the structure of dill and parsley farming. The most common cultiva- tion area for these species is 200—600 m 2. Parsley cultivations are larger than those for dill, 35 % being over 1000 m 2. The green houses are used mostly for early and late crops. The area for the other herbs per farmer is smaller, up to approximately ten square metres. The herb production is concentrated in Southern Finland as is the herb consuming food industry. The farmers who have trading agreements are usually close to the processing industry. Furthermore the climate is also more favourable for growing in the southern parts of the country. Dill and parsley are mostly cul- tivated in South-West Finland, especially in Ahvenanmaa and the Turku archipelago. Mustard and caraway farms are located in Middle and South-West Finland, caraway farmers especially in Häme province. A few mustard growers are found also in South-Poh- janmaa and even as far north as Oulu. Almost 100 % of the herbs grown in Fin- land are sold fresh at domestic market. Near- ly 80 % of the farmers sell their products in wholesale, and centralized shops. Less than 10 °7o of the interviewed farmers sell the herbs in the market place. Marketing commonly- used herbs like dill, parsley and marjoram has been relatively easy through the long estab- lished marketing channels. Trading agree- ments are common only among the large-scale Table 4. Number of dill and parsley farms (Vo) accord- ing to the size of the cultivation. Green house Vo Open field Vo Size of the farm Size of the farm m 1 m! 199 14.3 199 14.7 200—599 45.7 200—599 44.1 600—999 14.3 600—999 17.6 1000 25.7 1000—2499 14.8 2500 8.8 Total 100.0 100.0 farmers. The ratio of supply and demand changes frequently. During the good crops the wholesale price has tended to be rather low compared with the growing costs. Marketing of the less common herbs has been quite difficult because of the lack of demand, which is in turn due to the consu- mers unfamiliarity with the use of them. These herbs are normally imported as required by the food industry, with the additional ad- vantage that the quality is consistant. The few farmers that do produce these herbs have pro- moted them and usually sold them fresh to the restaurants and health food stores. Processing by farmers is rare. Increase in domestic production Only dill, parsley, caraway and mustard are cultivated on a larger scale in Finland. To in- crease the self-sufficiency of the named species wider production is needed. Replacing the import of dry dill and pars- ley demands an increase in dill production by s—B5 —8 and parsley by I—21 —2 hectares. The amount and quality of the yield reached in Finland speak for domestic production. Fresh dill and parsley are nearly all domes- tic. By storing and lengthening the growing season, full self-sufficiency for those fresh herbs can be reached. Mustard is imported as seeds, grinded and as oil and prepared mustard. The import of mustard seeds in 1982 was nearly 600 tonnes and the domestic supply 150 tonnes. To re- 235 place just the seed import requires a four-fold increase in production compared with the pre- sent 100 hectare cultivation. The average mus- tard yield, 1500—2000 tonnes per hectare, cor- responds to the yields harvested in Middle- Europe. Production of caraway is less than half of the total consumption in Finland. Replacing the import assumes a two-fold increase in cul- tivation. Caraway is suited to Finnish climate and will give a reasonable yield of 1300—2000 tonnes per hectare. The present caraway area is 25 hectares. Besides the above mentioned species it will only be possible to start or widen the produc- tion of numerous herb plants in Finland on the basis of increased domestic demand. Only minor production is needed to satisfy the present demand. The possibilities for export and large scale seed production (mustard and caraway) demand more land which is likely to be less than 1000 hectares in the near future. The area is small compared with the area nec- essary for many agricultural crops. Therefore herb production has less importance as an alternative use of land. The income and labour effect is supposed to be more significant than the production political effect. To find out these effects the production costs and productivity of herb plant growing should be investigated. Labour intensive herb cultivation or large-scale seed production might dramatically change the kind of work and income for a small-scale farmer or even create a totally new occupa- tion. The possibilities of export potential should be assessed at the same time. Increase in demand, both domestic and overseas, depends on effective promotion. For increased production many aspects of produc- tion techniques, processing and economics need investigating. References Greenhalgh, P. 1979. The market of culinary herbs. Tropical Products Institute G 121. 170 p. London. Anon. 1983. Avomaan vihanneskasvitaulukko. Puutar- hakalenteri 1984: 380. Espoo. Anon. 1974. Dyrkning af gul sennep. Tidsskr. for froavd. 742. Anon. 1984. Ennakkotietoja kotitaloustiedustelusta 1981. Suullinen tiedonanto 6. 3. 1984. Anon. 1980. Min. of Agric., Fish, and Food. Culinary & medicinal herbs. Reference book 325. 69 p. London. Ms received September 24, 1985 SELOSTUS Mausteiden kulutus ja tuotanto Suomessa Seija Häivä Tämä selvitys on osa Suomen Akatemian vuonna 1983 asettamaa maustekasvien yhteistutkimusta, jonka tarkoi- tuksena oli tutkia mitä mahdollisuuksia Suomella on lisätä mausteomavaraisuutta ja käynnistäävienti yrttimaustei- demme laadun ja aromikkuuden perusteella. Kiinnostus mauste- ja lääkekasvien käyttöön ja vilje- lyyn on lisääntynyt viime vuosina. Mausteita käyttävät kotitalouksien lisäksi elintarvike- ja lääketeollisuus, Maus- teyrtit ovat melko vaatimattomia viljelykasveja ja monien lajien viljely onnistuu myös Suomessa. Toistaiseksi vil- jely on kuitenkin ollut vähäistä. Maamme pohjoisen si- jainnin takia useiden kasvien aromiaine- ja vitamiini- pitoisuus on korkea ja myös ilma on puhtaampaa kuin esimerkiksi Keski-Euroopan tiheään asutuissa teollisuus- maissa, joista tuodaan mausteita Suomeen. Tämän työn tarkoituksena oli kartoittaa perustietoja 236 mausteiden kulutuksesta, tuotannosta ja tuonnista. Mauste- ja lääkekasvejakoskevaa tietoa ei ole Suomessa viime vuosikymmeninä koottu. Suomessa noin 150 viljelijää kasvattaa maustekasveja myyntiä varten.Enin osa heistä viljelee yrttikasveja, vain kymmenen viljelijää kasvattaa siemenmausteita, sinap- pia jakuminaa (kasvitieteellisesti hedelmämauste). Vuon- na 1983 kaupallisen maustetuotannon ala oli noin 160 heh- taaria. Yrttimäisiä mausteita kasvatettiin 30 hehtaarin ja siemenmausteita 130 hehtaarin alalla. Siemenmausteista pääosa oli sinappia, kumina-ala oli 25 hehtaaria. Yrttimausteista tilliä japersiljaa viljellään eniten. Til- lin viljelyala oli vuonna 1983 noin 14 hehtaaria ja persilja- ala 12hehtaaria. Ruohosipulia ja meiramia kasvatetaan alle hehtaarin alalla. Muiden mausteyrttien viljely on vä- häistä. Tuoreen tillin japersiljan osalta Suomi on lähes oma- varainen. Kuivattua tilliä tuotiin vuonna 1982 noin 11 ton- nia ja kuivattua persiljaa 6 tonnia. Kuminan omavarai- suusaste on 40 °7o ja sinapin lähes 20 %. Muut mausteet tulevat elintarviketeollisuudelle ja kaupan keskusliikkeille ulkomailta. Suomeen tuotiin vuonna 1982 mausteita yli 30 miljoo- nan markan arvosta. Lähes puolet tuonnin arvosta oli niin sanottuja eksoottisia mausteita. Lajeja, joita voitaisiin mahdollisesti viljellä myös Suomessa, tuotiin lähes 17 mil- joonan markan arvosta. Eniten tuotiin humalaa, sinap- pia, valkosipulia, kamomillaa, minttua, tilliä ja anista. Kotimaisen kulutuksen perusteella voidaan todeta, että mauste- ja lääkekasvituotannon vaatima peltoala on vä- häinen. Mahdollisesta viennin käynnistämisestä ja laajem- masta siemenmausteiden tuotannosta huolimatta viljelyala jää lähivuosina ilmeisestikin alle tuhannen hehtaarin. Tä- män perusteella maustekasvien viljelyn tuotantopoliitti- nen merkitys on vähäinen. Tulo- ja työllisyyspoliittisista vaikutuksia ei ole toistaiseksi tutkittu. Todennäköisesti ne ovat kuitenkin suuremmatkuin tuotantopoliittisetvai- kutukset. Työvoimavaltainen yrttikasvien viljely tai laa- jamittainen siemenmausteiden tuotanto voi olla merkit- tävä työllistäjä muun maatalouden lisänä tai kokonaan uutena viljelyvaihtoehtona. Laaja tuotantoedellyttääkui- tenkin taloudellisten ja viljelyteknisten sekä sadon jatko- käsittelyyn liittyvien seikkojen ja vientimahdollisuuksien selvittämistä. 237