North American wood pellet export to Europe rises

A report by the North American Wood Fibre Review claims wood pellet exports over to Europe were up over 70% in the third quarter of 2012 year-on-year.

The total amount delivered was reported to be 860,000 tonnes and the increase has been put down to expansion of production in both the US South and British Columbia.

‘The three major European pellet import countries remain the UK, the Netherlands, and Belgium, while Italy, Denmark and Sweden are notably involved in pellet imports from North America but on a much smaller scale,’ the report stated.

Announced US South pellet export plants increased sharply in the second half of 2012 too. Export pellet facilities, which are under construction, conversion or redesigned, will add an additional 1.7 million tonnes of capacity during 2013. In addition, five more plants have been announced and, if they come to fruition, could bring another 2.3 million tonnes of capacity into play by the end of 2014.