Rye cultivations areas

Rye is a somewhat exotic and rare grain: only 1.5% of all of the world's cultivated grain comprises rye. About a third is used for human nutrition, while the rest is utilised as animal feed or seeds. Rye is a speciality of northern regions. At present, 95% of the world's rye grows between the Ural and the North Sea. Rye has provided people in the region with their daily bread throughout history. Rye is known to have been cultivated already thousands of years ago.

Finland is not self-sufficient in rye cultivation. Cultivation is limited by its uncertainty, while the certainty of other grains has developed significantly over the last decades. As a result, rye is imported to Finland from regions within close proximity, e.g. Germany, Poland and the Baltics.