Household Production and Consumption in Finland 2001

The eating of snacks has become increasingly common, and for this reason
it was considered necessary that these products should be identified as final
consumption goods. Also all alcoholic beverages are defined as final
consumption goods, although sometimes they are also used as ingredients to
prepare mixed drinks, and in some households wine and beer are an integral
part of meals. In the UK and Germany, all dairy products and fruits were
defined as intermediate consumption goods, but bread and some vegetables
(French fries) were classified as final consumption goods (Household
production… 2003). In other words there may be country differences here
that have to do with different food cultures.
It is important to remind here that in the input method, the number of
intermediate consumption products does not affect the amount of value
added, which is the sum of labour, capital and taxes on production minus
subsidies. Intermediate consumption goods are, however, included in the value
of the total output.
Results indicate that eating out and ready-to-eat foods still play a fairly
limited role in the meal management of Finnish families. Figure 5 shows the
values of the meals, snacks and alcoholic beverages consumed by households in
percentage terms including the consumption of household-produced meals
(SNA and non-SNA food). Shopping and related travel for the acquisition of
meals is shown separately. The relative proportions of final consumption goods
and intermediate consumption goods are discussed also in Chapter 6.
Clothing and clothing care
Clothing care includes washing, ironing, repairs, etc. The home production of
clothes is very rare. In 2003 Kristiina Aalto reported that less than 3 per cent
of women in Finland made clothes for themselves or household members on a
regular basis, and 7 per cent produced textiles, sharply down on earlier figures
(Aalto 2003, Niemi & Pääkkönen 2001). Most purchases now are for
ready-to-wear clothes, which is reflected in shopping, services and travel
accounting for a large proportion of production (Figure 6). Overall the share of
intermediate consumption goods is rather low. One-fifth of it consists of
energy and water consumption. Laundry accounts for 14 per cent of
households’ water consumption and for just over 4 per cent of electricity
consumption (Appendix 8).
In 2001 people in Finland spent a total of 9.3 billion euros on clothing and
clothing care. Almost three-quarters or 71 per cent of this was attributable to
own production. Figure 7 shows how the overall consumption of clothing and
clothing care breaks down between own household production and the
purchase of clothes and related services. Own production consists mainly of
washing and other care of clothes, while services purchased from market
producers consist of ready-to-wear clothes and laundry services. Shopping and
travel account for one-fifth.
40 Statistics Finland National Consumer Research Centre