The Czech Republic, Romania and Germany have dominated Austrian pellet imports in the past five years © Destatis/Holzkurier
In 2021, Austria imported 399,000 tons from its Top 5 supplying countries, which corresponds to 97% of total imports that year. According to Holzkurier estimates, imports from these countries will amount to around 355,000 tons in 2022. Austria’s main supplier is the Czech Republic, followed by Romania and Germany, which have swapped places several times since 2017.
According to Destatis, pellet imports from the Czech Republic amounted to 151,000 tons in 2021. Germany followed in second place with 122,000 tons, while Romania ranked third with 114,000 tons. Last year, Austria imported around 112,000 tons of wood pellets from the Czech Republic, 129,000 tons from Romania and approximately 95,000 tons from Germany.
Slovenia and Ukraine rank fourth and fifth behind the Top 3 supplying countries. Since 2018, imports from Slovenia have ranged from 9,000 to 11,000 tons, while those from Ukraine have totaled 2,000 to 4,000 tons. According to Holzkurier estimates, Austria imported around 7,500 tons of wood pellets from Ukraine last year.
In 2021, Austria produced approximately 1.6 million tons of wood pellets. Exports amounted to 876,000 tons and imports to 410,000 tons. Pellet consumption amounted to 1.2 million tons. According to Dr. Christian Rakos, Managing Director of proPellets Austria, the geographical proximity is one reason for importing pellets from the Czech Republic and Germany. In the north and east of Austria, it is cheaper to import pellets from the two neighboring countries than to transport them over longer distances from the west and south of Austria.
As for 2022, Destatis has so far published foreign trade figures until and including October. The pellet imports in the months of November and December are estimates made by the Holzkurier’s editorial team.
