Brazilian wood pellet exports rise in January

: Biomass
25/02/24

Brazilian wood pellet exports rose on the year in January, driven by higher shipments to northwest Europe amid stronger biomass-fired generation.

Loadings picked up by 9,000t on the year to 40,000t, but were some way below the 2021-23 average for the month (see table). Exports to northwest Europe increased on the year and made up almost two-thirds of total shipments.

Exports to Belgium jumped to 19,000t in January from 1,000t a year earlier, the largest amount shipped from Brazil to the country in a single month.

Total biomass-fired output in northwest Europe rose to 4.5GW on an average hourly basis in January from 4GW a year earlier, fuelling demand for wood pellets.

Loadings to the UK and the Netherlands rose, but exports to the UK were significantly below the historical average for the month.

Brazilian loadings to the UK also fell sharply throughout 2024. The country traditionally supplied the UK with pellets — probably for residential consumption — on a long-term contract basis. But congestion at Brazilian ports from mid-2024 probably pressured exports.

Loadings to Italy halved in January on the year, as Italian buyers did not place orders for the winter season until early December 2024, which would result in shipments being delivered around two months later because of delays at ports.

In February this year, Brazil exported 17,000t of pellets to Denmark, according to Kpler data, which would already be above Brazil's overall shipments to the Nordic country during the same month in 2024. Denmark has recently become a main destination for Brazilian pellets.

The country is becoming an increasingly important supplier of wood pellets to Europe. And at least four new Brazil producers have obtained their ENplus A1-grade pellet certification, with combined capacity of 255,000 t/yr, and are looking for clients in Europe.

By Alejandro Moreano

Brazilian wood pellet exports						'000t
	Jan-25	Jan-24	Jan 2021-23 avg.	Full year 2024	Full year 2023	Full year 2020-22 avg.
Belgium	19.3	0.8	11.4	28.8	36.2	3.6
Italy	15.9	28.2	12.3	300.6	325.0	187.6
UK	1.8	0.0	49.6	50.6	146.7	184.3
Netherlands	1.2	0.0	0.0	2.2	0.2	14.9
Denmark	0.8	0.5	0.0	98.5	1.5	0.1
Other	0.5	0.8	0.3	9.6	57.8	6.2
Total	39.5	30.3	49.4	490.2	567.3	396.7
— customs data

Brazilian wood pellet exports '000t

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