The record quantity produced in the third quarter corresponds to an increase of 37,000 t compared to the same period of 2022 (946,000 t) and of 171,000 t compared to three years ago. In the months from July to September 2020, pellet production had totaled 792,000 t. The increase in production output is mainly the result of an expansion of capacities and the start-up of new pellet mills over the past three years.
Softwood is still by far the main raw material used to produce pellets (99.2%). The vast majority of German pellets are of ENplus A1 quality (98.1%). Industrial-quality pellets account for 1.8%.
At 91.9% in the third quarter, the percentage of sawmill by-products reached its highest level since the beginning of 2022, as the German Pellet Institute (DEPI) reports. Log wood accounted for 8.1% of the raw material used. In terms of sales, most pellets, i.e. 74.4%, were sold in loose form, while bagged pellets account for 25.6%. Thus, the share of bagged pellets fell slightly both compared to the second quarter (27%) and to the average of last year (26.6%).
At 11.7%, Germany’s export share was slightly lower in the period July to September 2023 than it had been in the first two quarters of this year (19.4% and 15.1%, respectively). The percentage is also lower than that recorded in the third quarter of 2022 (13.1%) and the average of last year (12.6%), as the DEPI reports.
