Report: Dutch wood pellets imports reach new high in 2020

The Netherlands imported a record 2.76 million metric tons of wood pellets last year at a value of $511 million, according a report published by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network.

Approximately half of those imports were sourced from other European Member states, primarily from the Baltics and Portugal. The U.S. was the largest non-EU supplier of wood pellets to the Netherlands, at 591,000 metric tons at a value approximately $112 million. The Netherlands was the second largest destination for U.S. wood pellet exports in 2020, behind only the U.K.

According to the report, solid biomass, including wood waste, wood chips, and wood pellets, accounted for approximately 30 percent of renewable energy consumption in the Netherlands last year. Wood pellets alone accounted for approximately 10 percent.

Dutch wood pellets imports are expected to increase to approximately 3 million metric tons in 2021, with the U.S. supplying an estimated 750,000 metric tons of that volume.

Total consumption of wood pellets in the Netherlands is expected to reach 3.1 million metric tons this year, including 2.5 million metric tons used in cofiring, 915,000 metric tons used in other large-scale applications, and 85,000 metric tons used in residential applications.

A full copy of the report can be downloaded from the USDA FAS GAIN website.