« Event for wood chips, he added, there is a chance for Brazil to supply some volumes to Europe. Market Pressures in Germany In Germany, there has been a rush on pellet stoves as a way to compensate for rising electricity prices. Martin Bentele, representing the German Pellet Association DEPV, spoke about the pellet market in Germany, which he said is one of the leading pellet markets in the world. “As far as pellet production is concerned ... 3.3 million tons were produced in Germany, and 2.9 million tons were consumed in Germany,” Bentele said. Many efforts have been made toward quality assurance, he said, offering that nearly 150 pellet producers have received the European ENplus certification for quality. As an exporting country, Germany has not needed much in the way of imports in the past. However, with the impacts the war in Ukraine has had on the market, imports
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have become more necessary, Bentele said. There has been increased interest in pellet heating systems throughout the country due to the high cost of oil, as well as government legislation that bans the use of gas heating in the future. Bentele explained that imports are becoming harder to acquire since foreign companies are selling their stock at home as demand increases due to high electricity prices. “It’s going to get harder to get imports, and the other thing is that low-grade quality will have to be accepted in order to cover the rising demand for industrial plants,” he said. “I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t tell you what the end result will be, but in terms of security of supply we’re going to have to really try very, very hard.” Supply Security in Austria Christian Rakos, president of the World Bioenergy Organization, and CEO of ProPellets Austria and Save Energy Austria, gave updates on the Austrian market.
Over the past 10 to 15 years, the market for pellet heating has fluctuated significantly with the price of oil, primarily consisting households that are moving from heating with oil to pellets. He explained that fluctuating oil prices and environmental impacts are leading homeowners to choose wood pellet heating as a more secure option, and businesses, too. “All the companies that are now worried about the development of gas supply security, of gas prices, of heating oil prices, are now rushing to go for pellets and that is going to have a very serious impact on pellet demand,” Rakos said. Rakos also discussed Austria’s exports and imports, as well as the issue of pellet storage. Austria exported nearly 900,000 tons of pellets, primarily to Italy. The country imports about 100,000 from Germany, the Czech Republic and Romania, from Austrian companies sited in those countries. Rakos explained that there are concerns it may be difficult to acquire pellets for some traders in upcoming moths. “This
