Peat: Characteristics
Holding water while staying airy: what growers pay for
What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).Supply volume characteristics
| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current production volume | about 17 Mt (2025e), down from 18 Mt in 2024 | Finland 2.5 Mt, Canada 2.0 Mt, Latvia 2.0 Mt, Belarus 1.8 Mt, Russia 1.8 Mt and Sweden 1.8 Mt. Output falls as Europe phases out fuel peat. | USGS MCS 2026, Peat |
| Inventory and stock levels | US producer stocks 160 kt at end-2025, about 5 weeks of US consumption | Down from 220 kt in 2024, against apparent consumption of 1.7 Mt (derived). Field stockpiles carry growers through winter because harvest only happens in dry summers. | USGS MCS 2026 (weeks derived) |
| Capacity utilisation | not published | Output depends on the number of dry harvest days each summer, not plant capacity. Belarus's new Krupki briquette plant runs at 32,500 t a year with room for 90,000 t. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Geographic and producer concentration | Finland 14.7%, top-3 (Finland, Canada, Latvia) 38%; HHI about 940 (listed countries, 2025e) | Unconcentrated by country, but exports are concentrated: Canada 25.4% and Latvia 20.4% of export value (2024). Klasmann-Deilmann, Neova, Sun Gro and Premier Tech lead growing media; volumes are mostly not published. | USGS MCS 2026 (derived); Comtrade 2024 |
| Supply elasticity | low and falling | Summer weather caps each year's harvest. Opening new bogs takes years of drainage and permits, and climate policy is closing them in Europe. | USGS MCS 2026; Klasmann-Deilmann (2018) |
| Project pipeline and CapEx | contraction rather than growth | Finland cut peat use by more than a third (2025 climate report). Producers are replacing peat: Klasmann-Deilmann's alternatives reached 30% of output in 2025, with a 50% target by 2030. | USGS MCS 2026; HortiDaily (2026) |
| Logistics and export flows | export value $1.80 billion (2024); US imports 1.3 Mt, 95% from Canada | Compressed bales move by truck and sea from Canada, the Baltics and Finland to US, Dutch, Chinese and German growers. Low density makes freight costly per tonne. | Comtrade 2024; USGS MCS 2026 |
Material characteristics Industrial mineral
Peat is partly decayed bog plant matter. Horticulture pays for its structure: it holds a lot of water while staying airy, is low in nutrients and pathogens, and is acidic so growers can set pH with lime. Fuel buyers pay for heat content and low moisture. Degree of decomposition sets which use it suits.
| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree of decomposition | von Post scale H1-H10; lightly decomposed white peat about H2-H4 is preferred for growing media (indicative) | Less decomposed peat keeps air space and structure longer | von Post humification scale (indicative) |
| Water-holding capacity | many times its dry weight (indicative) | The main reason growers use peat; USGS says it limits substitution | USGS MCS 2026 |
| pH | sphagnum peat about 3-4.5 (indicative) | Low starting pH lets growers adjust to each crop with lime | Industry norms (indicative) |
| Organic matter and ash | organic matter above about 90%, ash under about 5% for sphagnum peat (indicative) | Ash and mineral contamination reduce quality | Industry norms (indicative) |
| Moisture | fuel peat about 40-50% as delivered (indicative) | Wet peat burns poorly and costs more to ship | Industry norms (indicative) |
| Energy content | about 9-10 GJ/t as received, about 20 GJ/t dry (indicative) | Sets fuel value; well below coal | IPCC 2006 Guidelines (indicative) |