Wood pellet consumption in the European Union is expected to begin to rebound this year, reaching 23.45 million metric tons with increases for both residential and industrial use, according to a report filed with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network.
According to report, EU consumption of wood pellets declined in 2023 and 2024 due to a mild winter, high stocks, lower power prices and power plant outages. Increased consumption in 2025 is also expected to push imports higher.
The EU is expected to produce 20.5 million metric tons of wood pellets in 2025, up from 19.9 million in 2024 and 19.97 million in 2023. Imports are expected to reach 4.68 million metric tons this year, up from 4.48 million metric tons last year and 4.9 million metric tons in 2023. Exports are expected to reach 1.7 million metric tons in 2025, up from 1.66 million metric tons in 2024 and 1.17 million metric tons in 2023. EU wood pellet consumption is expected to reach 23.45 million metric tons in 2025, up from 22.62 million metric tons last year, but down slightly when compared to the 24.03 million metric tons of wood pellets consumed in 2023.
Of the 27 countries in the EU, the top consumers of wood pellets are Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, the Netherland, Sweden and Austria. France consumed an estimated 3.5 million metric tons of wood pellets last year, followed by Germany at 3.37 million metric tons and Italy at 2.8 million metric tons.
Germany is also a top producer of wood pellets in the EU, with production estimated at 3.7 million metric tons in 2024. France manufactured approximately 2.45 million metric tons of wood pellets last year, followed by Latvia at 1.98 million metric tons, Austria at 1.8 million metric tons and Sweden at 1.65 million metric tons.
Italy was the EU’s top importer of wood pellets in 2024 at 1.84 million metric tons. The U.S. supplied only 7,000 metric tons of that volume. Denmark imported 1.66 million metric tons of wood pellets in 2024, including 703,000 metric tons imported from the U.S., while the Netherlands imported 1.5 million metric tons, including 759,000 metric tons from the U.S. Overall, the U.S. exported 1.9 million metric tons of wood pellets to the EU in 2024, down from 2.91 million metric tons in 2023.
The U.S. was the main supplier of wood pellets to the EU last year at 1.9 million metric tons, followed by Canada at 619,000 metric tons and Brazil at 419,000 metric tons.
https://biomassmagazine.com/articles/report-eu-wood-pellets-consumption-expected-to-expand-in-2025