West of Mpls MN about 50 miles on Hwy 12 | If I remember correctly, your cousins live in Finland? My ancestors immigrated from Finland and have distant cousins that still live in Finland...my little sister and one of her sons are touring somewhere in Finland as I type.
I did a little research on Finland agriculture production and the import and export of agriculture products in and out of Finland and how the war in Ukraine is impacting Finnish farmers and I stumbled upon some interesting statistics....the USA supplies 75% of the ethanol Finland uses for fuel. The USA also supplies Finland with 72% of the raisins and 53% of the prune Finns consume...and 22% of the whiskey Finns drink.
https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/finland-agriculture
Due to severe winters and a short growing season, Finland relies heavily on imports of agricultural and food products. In 2022, total Finnish imports of agricultural and related products were valued at $9.124 billion, of which $121 billion were imports from the United States. Over 40 percent of Finnish exports came from the Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany. The United States was the fifth largest non-EU supplier (after Norway, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Indonesia).
https://www.businessfinland.fi/en/whats-new/news/cision-releases/202...
According to Finnish Customs’ export statistics, our food exports have increased by approximately 20% between January and October 2022 when compared to the corresponding period the previous year. For the first time in its history, Finland’s food exports will reach EUR 2,1 billion in 2022. “The growth seen in exports will increase the resilience of the food sector to crises,” says Esa Wrang from Business Finland.
The most significant export figures have been achieved in France, where growth is around 60% when compared to the previous year. Finnish exports to the EU countries grew by an average of 26%. From countries outside the EU, our food exports grew to China, Norway, the United States, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand. Exports of Finnish food to Germany grew by approximately 10%.
Why in 2022 was Finland subsidizing farmers due to concerns about food shortages caused by Putin's war against Ukraine? Are Finnish farmers still receiving these subsidies and tax breaks?
https://yle.fi/a/3-12363725
The government's ministerial working group on preparedness has drawn up a support package of 300 million euros for the agricultural sector to prevent any disruptions in food supply caused by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Finland's Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko (Cen) said on Thursday.
"We have decided to provide 300 million euros in state emergency aid to food producers and Finnish farms," Saarikko said, adding that this is the first support package that the group has finalised, with more expected for the future.
"We have been looking for ways to guarantee strong self-sufficiency and domestic food production in Finland as quickly and efficiently as possible," the minister added.
How the package will be implemented remains unclear, however, with Saarikko suggesting an increase in agricultural subsidies and a reduction in taxes as the best means of supporting farmers.
Reads to me like Finnish farmers should bump the production throttle a little closer to the bunny.
Edited by CMN 4/2/2024 12:51
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What my cousins say..Euro Farmers
