Russian wood pellet exports grow in 2021

Russian wood pellet shipments rose on the year as increased industrial and residential demand offset any drops in exports.

Wood pellet exports increased to 2.4mn t in 2021 from 2.3mn t a year earlier, data from Russian customs data show.

Increased shipments to Belgium and the Netherlands counterbalanced a decrease in Danish and UK exports.

Exports to Belgium rose to 371,000t in 2021 from 251,000t in 2020, despite a drop in average biomass-fired generation to 215MW from 252MW, remit data from the national grid show. And the decommissioning of French utility Engie's biomass-fired Les Awirs power plant in August 2020 reduced output futher. Engie still operates the 250MW Rodenhuize facility in Belgium, the largest dedicated pellet-fired plant in the country. Belgium is also the largest recipient of Russian premium pellets.

Shipments of Russian pellets to the Netherlands increased to 97,000t in 2021 from 77,000t a year earlier, as a result of increased biomass-generated capacity. German utility RWE doubled its co-firing allowance by 225MW at its 1.5GW Eemshaven plant in the Netherlands, which came into effect in November 2021. And pellet-fired generation also increased at RWE's other Dutch plant 630MW Amer 9 in January-September. Biomass-fired generation data for October-December is yet to be published. Further, German utility Uniper's 1.1GW Massvlakte 3 biomass co-fired plant ran at 800MW from January-September 2021, up from zero in the same period in 2020, which increased wood pellet demand.

Russian exports to Japan jumped on the year to 106,000t from 17,000t in 2020, probably as a result of Covid-19 restrictions in Vietnam, a major wood pellet-exporting nation to Japan, from mid-July to October, which restricted shipments. Increased exports to Japan offset a reduction in shipments to South Korea, which fell to 169,000t from 185,000t in 2020.

Producer output increases

The five largest Russian producers accounted for the majority of wood pellet exports in 2021 at 980,000t, an increase from 969,000t a year earlier.

This was despite a drop in production on the year at Segezha Group and New Forest Pro plants of 46,000t and 11,000t, respectively. This was as a result of issues relating to the transfer of ownership of newly acquired plants to Segezha Group.

Residential rises

Russian exports to Germany and France increased on the year, catering to a growing residential wood pellet market in both countries.

In France wood pellet-fired stove and boiler sales were expected to rise to 200,000 and 30,000 units in 2021, up from 127,500 and 14,400 units a year earlier respectively, data from Bioenergy Europe show. And sales of boilers and stoves in Germany were also expected to increase to around 70,000-75,000 units in 2021, which is equivalent to around 350,000t of additional wood pellet demand, data from a study from the Austrian Pellet Association show.

Additional demand was reflected in Russian wood pellet exports, which rose to 51,000t and 45,000t to France and Germany, respectively, up from from 43,000t and 39,000t a year earlier. Russian exports to Italy, the largest market for residential pellets, were broadly unchanged on the year at 133,000t.

Further, the number of EN Plus-certified Russian producers grew to 59 in 2021 from 49 a year earlier, the certification board told Argus. As such, Russian producers appear to be positioning themselves to take advantage of this growing market.

By Gabriella Twining