ESTONIAN ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW 2009

2.6. Agriculture
The relative importance of agriculture in the Estonian
economy has declined since the mid-1990s and
the competitiveness of our agriculture sector is below
the EU average, although a large part of the foodstuffs
consumed in Estonia are grown on the spot. Agricultural
production is one of the most characteristic activities in
Estonia’s rural areas. Agriculture supplies Estonians with
food, offers work in rural areas and shapes the cultural
landscape.
Animal husbandry
In light of Estonia’s natural conditions, animal farming
plays the most important role in Estonian agriculture.
Dairy herds account for the majority of cattle. Besides
cattle farming, pig, sheep, horse and bird farming is
widespread. The abundance of agricultural animals
has generally remained unchanged but compared to
the earlier period, a rise in the abundance of goats and
sheep can be seen (figure 2.11). The number of cattle has
started declining slightly since 2005, but it has not been
a large drop.
In 2007, meat import made up 40% and export 20%
of total meat resources. The percentage of import and
export of milk is very low, but cheese export outstrips
import.
350 000
300 000
sheep and goats
cattle
pigs*
250 000
200 000
150 000
number
100 000
50 000
0
256 509
27 317
263 928
31 374
262 446
37 123
252 121
44 950
318 547
254 235
52 712
243 338
250 465
60 408
279 553
241 948
66 074
254 444
238 331
64 411
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Figure 2.11. Abundance of cattle, pigs, sheep and goats from 2001–2008. Data: ARIB.
*The total number of pigs was derived from the numbers of pigs reported by farmers who reported their pig totals as of 1 May (from
2005).
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