Opportunities for food exports to Finland seen

There are substantial opportunities for the exportation of food products such as fruits and vegetables to Finland, but there are also hurdles that exporters may have to overcome, says a recent report from the Philippine embassy in Norway sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs and to the Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport). Finland's location, topography and climate limits agricultural production, so the country depends largely on food imports, the report said. The report also noted that Finnish consumers are becoming more health-conscious, being concerned about the freshness, origin and quality of the food they eat, as well as price-conscious. There has been a growing push for more organic foods and "functional foods" (foods seen as having a beneficial effect on one's health) in the country even as more people are switching to less expensive grocery brands, it said. There is also an increasing demand for international cuisine in the Nordic nation, it added. However, said the report, the opportunities for direct exports from developing countries to Finland are also limited by the structure of purchasing, with its purchasing cooperative located in another EU country, so most of its food imports come from the country, it said. — BM, GMA News