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European Pellet Markets Step single cause: a shortage of raw materials. A decline in the

Into Heating Season Faced woodworking industry—particularly in the furniture sector—has
reduced the volume of sawdust reaching pellet plants, while
With Growing Raw Material administrative restrictions on logging in several regions have

Shortfalls limited the supply of roundwood.
Another pillar that has collapsed is imports from Belarus:

the ban on importing sawdust and pellets from Belarus has
Prices for wood pellets have risen across Europe ahead of disrupted the raw material balance.
the 2026/27 heating season: the reasons include a decline Previously, Poland served as a major hub for Belarusian
in the volume of sawmill byproducts, a loss of imports from biofuel, consuming some of it itself and reselling the rest;
the East, and a surge in early-season purchases, according Warsaw has not found an alternative supplier in the EU at a
to Global Wood Trade Network. comparable price.
The same pattern is repeating itself from Warsaw to Sarajevo: The frenzy has led to fraud: sellers are offering pellets on
manufacturers are struggling to find sawdust and wood chips, social media at last year’s prices, taking prepayments, and
retail prices have skyrocketed compared to manufacturer prices, then deleting their accounts. Households that replaced their

and buyers who waited until August are paying significantly coal stoves with pellet boilers under government “green”
more than those who ordered fuel in the spring. programs have proven to be the most vulnerable, as they
now have no alternative fuel source.
Poland endured the hardest hit
The crisis has hit Poland the hardest. Over the summer, the More expensive prices of pellets in Germany
price of a metric ton of pellets rose to 2,000–2,500 zlotys, In Germany, pellets are more expensive than at any time since
and the shortage became so severe that it sparked open the beginning of 2023: an increase of about 10 percent in a

outrage among the population. single month starting in June and about 40 percent over the
Industry organisations and the Ministry of Climate cite a past year. Traders describe prices per metric ton as being on

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