Ministry of Climate: Rainy year creates difficult situation for peat production

TALLINN - The rainy period during the first three quarters of this year has impacted not only the agricultural sector but also peat production.

According to the Estonian Environment Agency, precipitation this summer exceeded the long-term average; for instance, rainfall in June was 153 percent of the norm for Estonia. Concurrently, there was less sunshine and lower evaporation rates than usual, keeping the ground consistently wet. These conditions made the 2025 production season challenging for both the agricultural sector and peat producers.

"Peat production is heavily dependent on the weather. Producers have therefore justifiably expressed concern that the heavy rains and cool summer have left them in a difficult situation, preventing them from reaching planned production volumes," said Minister of Energy and Environment Andres Sutt.

Typically, the peat harvesting season ends in August, but this year, work was only possible on a few dry summer days and in September. While an average of about 0.9 million tons of peat was extracted annually between 2020 and 2024, the extraction volume for 2025 is approximately 30 percent lower, at around 0.63 million tons.

Weather data indicates this is an unusual situation. However, it must be considered that due to climate change, extreme weather conditions will become more frequent and water regimes will shift. This affects all people and businesses, so it is worth considering how to better adapt to the changing environment.

According to Estonia's future climate scenarios, the average annual precipitation is estimated to increase by 19 percent by the end of the century, with an even greater increase during the summer. For instance, a 38 percent rise in precipitation is predicted for May. This implies, among other things, that more water will need to be diverted from peat production areas into receiving water bodies, or that production will have to be rescheduled for the autumn period, when there is less rainfall.

Estonian peat production is primarily export-oriented and is used in horticulture and as a growing medium in the food production sector. According to Statistics Estonia, the main export destinations for peat in 2024 were China (52.9 million euros), the Netherlands (21.1 million euros), Spain (15.3 million euros), the United States (8.2 million euros), and Latvia (7.55 million euros).