Forest delicacies

Berries and mushrooms are, in addition to trees, the most sought-after treasures of the forest. Click the buttons to see the volumes of berries and mushrooms that are picked in Finland, and how much could be picked!

Most Finns have gone out berry picking at least once. For many, it is a regular autumn ritual and a good reason to spend time in the forest. Nearly 60 per cent of Finns pick natural berries every year, and they make on average eight trips to the forest per year. Under the Finnish everyone’s rights, anyone can freely pick berries and mushrooms for their own use or for selling. The sales proceeds are tax-free. Nowadays a considerable proportion of commercial berry and mushroom picking is carried out by workers from abroad. The most common, economically significant species of wild berries are blueberry and lingonberry. In good harvest years, some 50 million kilos are picked for personal and commercial use. Roughly 10 million kilos of other berry species are picked annually. Mushroom picking is also a common hobby with even commercial significance. Cep, aka porcini mushrooms are exported to Italy, and there is good demand for matsutake mushrooms in, for example, Japan.