Peat: Cycles
Why US peat got cheaper while imports cost more
What this tab covers Price history and what drives booms and busts, including this commodity's super-cycles, the drivers behind them and the metrics to track. It charts monthly prices (World Bank) with a switch to inflation-adjusted annual prices; where there is no World Bank series it uses USGS US prices.There is no World Bank price. The US average f.o.b. mine value fell from $38.52/t in 2021 to about $23/t in 2025. US peat is mostly lower-value reed-sedge, while imported sphagnum is priced higher. Demand follows horticulture: professional greenhouses, nurseries and home gardening. Harvests depend on dry summers, since milled peat must air-dry in the field. A wet season can cut output sharply and tighten supply. The long-run driver is policy that limits peat in horticulture and energy.
US price, Peat, average unit value, f.o.b. mine
2021 38.5 2022 26.6 2023 23.0 2024 25.0 2025 23.0 dollars per metric ton. USGS MCS 2026; 2025 is an estimate.Super-cycles in peat
Peat has no super-cycle. It is a low-value bulk product sold mostly on annual contracts to growers. Demand follows horticulture, which is steady, and energy use, which is in structural decline in Europe. The main forces now are climate policy, which is shrinking peat fuel and pushing retail compost toward peat-free blends, and supply shifts as Baltic and German output falls and Canada and Belarus expand. Weather can cut a season's harvest and tighten supply for a year.
- 2020-2023
US peat values peaked in 2021 and then fell back as imports dropped from 1.63 Mt (2021) to 1.17 Mt (2023).
US average unit value fell from $38.52/t (2021) to $26.58/t (2022) and $23.02/t (2023) (USGS MCS 2026)
- 2024-2025
European output fell: Latvia from 2.7 Mt to 2.0 Mt and Germany from 0.99 Mt to 0.83 Mt, while Canada rose from 1.76 Mt to 2.0 Mt; world output dipped from 18 Mt to 17 Mt.
US unit value about $25/t (2024) and $23/t (2025) (USGS MCS 2026)
- 2013-2025
Growing-media makers shifted toward alternatives under climate pressure; Finland's peat energy use dropped by more than one-third.
No price series; Klasmann-Deilmann cut product footprint 33%, from 90.7 to 60.9 kg CO2e per m3 (HortiDaily, 2026)
What drives the cycle
- Horticulture demand. Greenhouse vegetables, nurseries and ornamentals drive most peat use (USGS).
- Climate policy on peatlands. Several countries plan to reduce or eliminate peat use because peatlands are carbon sinks (USGS).
- Harvest weather. Wet summers cut milled peat output and stocks.
- Sanctions and trade routes. Belarus and Russia redirect exports to China, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan (USGS).
Metrics to track
| Metric | Why it matters | Where to track it |
|---|---|---|
| US peat production, imports and stocks | Shows market balance in the largest importer | USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries |
| Finland peat energy use | Tracks the energy phase-out | Statistics Finland; Finland Ministry of the Environment annual climate report |
| Share of alternatives in growing media | Tracks substitution | Klasmann-Deilmann sustainability reports; growing media industry bodies |
| Peat trade flows | Canada and Baltic export shifts | Comtrade (HS 2703); Statistics Canada |