Quarterly production of wood pellets in Germany from 2018 to 2022 in t; red: production in Q1 2022 © Holzkurier.com
In the first three months, 824,000 t of wood pellets were produced in Germany, up by 22,000 t or 3% compared to the same period of 2021. As the German Wood Fuel and Pellets Association (DEPV) reports, exports accounted for 11.9% which is less than in the past four years. In 2021, the full-year average was 15.8%. Thus, from January to March, nearly 40,000 t more were available on the German market than in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The percentage of bagged pellets reached 24.4% and was thus slightly lower than in the second half-year of 2021 but higher than at the beginning of 2021 (21.7%). Loose pellets accounted for 75.6% in the first quarter. Sawmill by-products remained the main raw material for production despite a slight decrease to 90.2% (Q4 2021: 93.1%; Q3 2021: 93.5%). At 87.5%, however, their share was still bigger compared to the first quarter of 2020. Log wood accounted for 9.8% of the raw material used for the production of pellets. In general, 98% of the wood used was softwood. 99% of the pellets produced in Germany were of the highest quality ENplus A1, while only 1% were industrial pellets.
