Among the three main industrial sectors, output rose by 39.9 percent in mining but fell by 22.9 percent in energy production and by 3.5 percent in manufacturing. Riin Kadarik, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said manufacturing output was down for the fourth straight month.

"In May, the main reason was again the manufacture of food products, which decreased by 3.5 percent," Kadarik said. "The output of the food industry has shown a year-on-year decrease for five months in a row, but the decline in May was smaller than in April."

Two-thirds of manufacturing activities saw higher production in May. "The largest manufacturing activity — the manufacture of wood — did not grow in May and remained at the same level as last year," Kadarik noted.

Among major industries, output increased in the manufacture of fabricated metal products (6 percent), computers, electronic and optical products (7.7 percent), and electrical equipment (13.7 percent). Production of computers, electronic and optical products was mainly boosted by higher output of navigation equipment. Fabricated metal products benefited from greater production of structural metal products. Electrical equipment output was lifted by increased production of wiring devices.

In May, 65.3 percent of total manufacturing output was sold abroad, a slightly smaller share than in April. Compared with May 2025, manufacturing sales rose by 2.5 percent at current prices based on working‑day‑adjusted data. Domestic sales grew by 6.1 percent, while export sales increased by 0.4 percent.

Energy sector output fell by 22.9 percent in May at constant prices. Based on production volume in megawatt-hours, electricity output fell by 15.1 percent and heat output by 18.8 percent year on year. "The continued fall in electricity production can mostly be attributed to increased imports," Kadarik said.

In mining and quarrying, output rose by 39.9 percent in May due to increased extraction of oil shale, peat, sand and gravel. "Peat production was positively influenced by favorable weather conditions," Kadarik explained.

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