South Savo is a versatile food region

The food sector plays an important role in South Savo. The strategic priorities of South Savo are forest, food and water. The number of food sector enterprises and establishments in 2018 was 2 707, which is 21% of all business enterprises in this region.

In 2018, the number of agricultural and horticultural farms was 2 271. Domestic animal production is the most common. Farms in South Savo are quite small, and many of them have specialty crop production, such as cabbages, carrot, iceberg lettuce and berries.

One fourth of the area of South Savo is inland waterways, and forest land covers 85% of the land area. South Savo’s nature gives a lot of possibilities with its pure berries, mushrooms and wild herbs for food services and tasty products. The domestic freshwater fish has supreme qualities in terms of wellbeing and environmental factors. Commercial fishers fish on South Savo’s freshwater lakes. The main fish specie is vendace, which accounts for over 43% of the national catch. The other common catch includes bream and roach.

In South Savo approximately 80 companies manufacture food products or beverages. One third of these companies are bakeries and mills. They are mostly small family companies. There are also a few bigger, companies specialized in gluten-free products. Over ten companies manufacture juices, berry wines and beers. Many of these products have received international awards.
South Savo is a pioneer in organic research and production. We have nearly 300 organic farms. The most organically cultivated vegetables are carrot, cabbages and onion. Also, organic turnip rape and strawberry are important crops. At the end of 2019, the certified organic collection area in South Savo was 2 193 hectares.