Canadian wood pellet exports increase 1% from last year

Canada’s wood pellet exports grew by 1% to a total of 781,083 tonnes in the first half of 2015 when compared to the same time period last year, data from Statistics Canada shows.

Increased deliveries to the UK, Canada’s number one wood pellet export target, offset declines in shipments from Italy and South Korea, the data shows.

Canadian H1 pellet exports to the UK totalled at 587,205 tonnes, up 26% from last year.

Exports to Italy in the six-month period declined 62% on the year to 42,799 tonnes, while those to South Korea fell 47% to 33,221 tonnes.

Sources said weak demand in the residential heating pellet market explained the on-year fall in Italian deliveries, while the drop in Canadian shipments of industrial pellets to South Korea was attributed to stiffer competition from local Asian suppliers such as Vietnam and Malaysia.

The US remains the second-largest destination for Canadian pellets, taking delivery of 90,288 tonnes in H1, up from 87,945 tonnes in the corresponding 2014 period.

Total Canadian pellet exports in June were 128,403 tonnes, 5% higher on the year but 8% lower than May.

Of this amount, 97,326 tonnes were shipped to the UK, up 39% on a year earlier but 12% lower than May.