1. Export volume, value and price
Wood pellets are a significant contributor to the annual export turnover of the Vietnamese wood industry. In 2021, the export turnover from wood pellets reached 413 million USD. Exported wood pellets have grown rapidly over the years.
In 2018, the volume of exported wood pellets increased by 67% compared to the previous year. The growth rate in the following years averaged about 10%/year. 2018 also marked a year of record growth in export value with a turnover of more than 362 million USD, an increase of nearly 120% compared to the turnover in 2017.
However, in 2019, the price and export value of Vietnam’s wood pellets decreased significantly (price decreased by 18.75% and value decreased by nearly 15%), wood pellet export turnover recovered relatively well in the next period with an average growth rate of 15%/year.
In the first 6 months of 2022, Vietnam exported wood pellets equivalent to 67.33% of the total wood pellet export volume in 2021, reaching a value of more than 85% of the turnover in 2021. At the same time, the export price of wood pellets has also increased sharply, soaring to an average of nearly 150 USD/ton, equivalent to an increase of more than 27% compared to the average price in 2021. The growth rate of wood pellet exports is expected to continue in 2022.
In the first 6 months of 2022, the export turnover of this item reached 354 million USD. If the growth momentum in early 2022 is maintained, the export turnover of wood pellets for the whole year could reach 700 million USD.
However, the volume and value of Vietnam’s wood pellet exports only really increased steadily from October 2021. The first half of 2022 (except February 2022, which coincided with the Lunar New Year in Asia) recorded a surge in both export volume and value. In April 2022 alone, Vietnam’s wood pellet export turnover reached more than 530 thousand tons, worth more than 80 million USD, equivalent to more than 15% of the export volume in 2021. The other months all had an average export volume of over 300,000 tons. The sharp increase in the volume and price of exported wood pellets in recent times is mainly due to the sudden increase in demand for wood pellets in EU countries.
The reason is that EU countries turned their backs on gas from Russia when the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out before that, which was imported to serve heating needs. Imported wood pellets are being used to replace this lost gas supply. The demand and price of wood pellets in the EU are increasing, creating attraction from large sources, especially from the US – the largest wood pellet exporter in the world. Although Vietnam is not a major supplier of wood pellets to EU countries, the high demand and price of wood pellets in the international market create opportunities for the Vietnamese wood pellet industry to expand production and export.
2. Export market
Nearly 100% of Vietnam’s wood pellets are exported to Japan and South Korea. The amount exported to the remaining markets (for example the EU) is insignificant. Before 2018, the proportion of Vietnam’s wood pellets exported to South Korea was much larger than that to Japan. However, the difference has gradually narrowed since then.
Specifically, the import volume of the Japanese market only started to increase sharply from 2018. This was also the time when the import demand of both markets increased dramatically (Japan increased 3 times, Korea increased more than 1.5 times) due to preferential policies on biomass electricity purchase prices, in which wood pellets are an important fuel source to convert from coal-fired electricity to clean electricity. The Japanese market continues to maintain a very high growth rate of over 90% on average in the next period (2019-2021). In 2022, Japan is expected to continue to increase the import volume of wood pellets from Vietnam to a level approximately equal to that of Korea.
Note: The information in this article is for reference only and may change depending on the manufacturer and source of raw materials. For the most accurate information, you should consult experts, wood pellet suppliers or contact Overc.vn to answer your questions and problems related to wood pellets and wood chips.
Source:
- Goviet org
- Overc Team synthesise, analyse and write articles.
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OVERC was established in Vietnam, which has 17 FTA (Free Trade Agreement).
Vietnam is one of the countries with the most FTAs in the world.
Our main activities are manufacturing and distributing Wood Pellets and Wood Waste. Our wood pellet products, which are made from Acacia veneer residual 100% or wood waste (logs, sawdust, wood chips, wood shavings,…), have been exported to many countries around the world such as Japan, Korea, EU, etc.
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