Russia: Wood Pellet Production Update
The development of the biofuels sector remains a low priority for the Russian government whose agricultural programs are largely focused on “import substitution” and export support programs. Russia’s wood pellets sector is the primary bio-based energy product and remains a significant global player. Post estimates production of wood pellets in Russia in CY 2017 at 1.75 MMT, an increase of 32 percent over production in CY 2016. Such a significant increase is attributed to continued strong demand from the European Union and new markets in Asia, such as Japan and China. In addition, government initiatives to subsidize exports of wood pellets and the launch of new production operations in Russia raised production. The Russian Customs Service reports exports of wood pellets from Russia in CY2017 at 1.44 MMT, or more than 34 percent higher than in CY2016. Post forecasts exports of wood pellets to increase but at a moderate pace of four percent to reach 1.5 MMT in CY2018.
