Tag Archives: france
Main Pellet Consumers In Europe
September 02, 2013• Source: EBA/IHB • Views: 249 Decrease text sizeIncrease text size The European Union recently published its annual biofuels report for 2013 with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network. The report identifies the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Belgium as the major users of wood pellets in the EU. Main Pellet Consumers (1,000 MT) Calendar Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 UK – – – 1,990 2,720 3,380 4,540 Denmark 993 1,200 1,400 1,720 2,350 2,400 2,500 Netherlands 705 912 912 913 1,290 1,710 2000 Sweden 1,715 1,850 1,920 2,280 1,880 1,700 650 Germany 600 900 1,050 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,600 Belgium 735 920 920 950 1,130 1,200 1,320 Total 6,028 7,021 9,000 11,400 13,000 14,300 16,000 Source: AEBIOM and Member State sector organisations, e = estimate EU FAS Posts Differences in consumption characterize the European pellet market, says the report. The market can be divided in three regions. Markets such as the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK are dominated by large – scale power plants. In Denmark and Sweden, pellets are used by power plants but also by households and by medium scale consumers using wood pellets for district heating. In Germany, Austria, Italy and France pellets are mainly used in small – scale private residential and industrial boilers for heating. The demand for industrial pellets depends primarily on EU Member State mandates and incentives, while the residential pellet market is driven by prices of alternative fuels. The UK, the Netherlands and Belgium are expected to be the main growth market for pellets, and also the most dependent on imports. The large scale use of wood pellets by the power plants in the UK and the Benelux countries is driven by the EU mandates for renewable energy use in 2020. The governments of these countries opted to fulfill their obligations mainly by the use of biomass for the generation of electricity. Recently, the UK Government enforced the Industrial Emissions Directive, which is expected to boost consumption further in 2013 and 2014. The Dutch Government will decide upon the national renewable energy policy in the second half of August. According the draft proposal, old power plants build in the eighties will have to be closed and biomass use will be capped at 25 PJ per year. Continue reading
France To Cut Minimum Property Holding For Capital Gains Relief
22 August 2013 The French government is to increase capital gains tax relief on investment properties and second homes, shortening the exemption minimum holding period to 22 years from 30. Along with a temporary 25% cut in capital gains tax over the next year, the move is intended to increase the supply of available housing. Gains on investment properties and second homes are subject to a 19% tax rate, with an additional tax of 2%-6% on gains of more than €50,000. From September taxable gains will be reduced by 6% a year after five years of ownership and by 4% in the 22nd year, leading to total exemption after 22 years compared with 30 years previously. However, gains will still be subject to social charges of 15.5% for 30 years. The base for these charges will be discounted by 1.65% a year between six and 21 years of ownership, 1.60% in the 22nd year and 9% a year thereafter. The base for both capital gains tax and social charges will also both be reduced by an exceptional 25% relief between September 2013 and August 2014. The reform is intended to “make the property market more fluid, support activity in the housing renovation sector and lead to a decline in prices that will help first-time buyers and tenants”, the Budget Ministry said. The 25% additional relief is designed to lead to a positive “supply shock” in the short term and ensure that the longer-term reform gets off to a solid start. The previous centre-right government reduced capital gains tax relief on the sale of second homes and rental properties, increasing the period of ownership needed for full exemption from the tax from 15 to 30 years, but this led to a drying up of sales. The new reform will be the third overhaul of the regime since 2004, whereas property investors need more stability in taxation, because of the long-term nature of their investments, said Victor Pagès, founder of My US Investment. Meanwhile, for undeveloped land the government is planning to abolish capital gains tax reliefs for longer periods of ownership, to encourage the sale of vacant land for housebuilding. The moves will be included in the 2014 budget. pie Continue reading
DTI Taps Export Potential Of ‘Engineered’ Bamboo
Philippine Daily Inquirer 9:08 pm | Friday, August 9th, 2013 The Department of Trade and Industry wants to tap the export potential of “engineered” bamboo as it is expected to provide Philippine furniture manufacturers a competitive edge in the Asean region. This will be critical after 2015 when the economies of the 10-member countries of the Asean would have been integrated under the Asean Economic Community, allowing the free flow of goods and manpower across the region. Senen M. Perlada, director at the DTI’s Bureau of Export Trade Promotion (BETP), said engineered bamboo had huge export potential since bamboo is endemic in the country; bamboo plantations can thrive nationwide; and new technologies are readily available for adoption. “The innate creativity of the Filipino and the plant’s flexibility as a raw material for a variety of products and uses can be showcased in international trade exhibitions and missions, as well as in local trade fairs and exhibits,” Perlada added. Engineered bamboo refers to the low-cost product manufactured from bamboo and designed to replace wood. Citing World Bamboo Resources, the DTI said that the Philippines had about 172,000 hectares of bamboo forest in 2005, or about 2.4 percent of the country’s total forest area of 7,162-million hectares. Over the past five years, the country’s export sales of bamboo furniture and furnishings had been on a seesaw trend, reaching a high of $1.21 million in 2008 and then dropping to $928,132 in 2009, government data showed. In 2010, export sales stood at $689,786, before it regained momentum in 2011 with sales reaching $1.1 million. In 2012, sales of bamboo furniture dropped by 56.9 percent to $481,195 from the previous year. The Philippines’ main markets for bamboo furniture in 2012 were the United States, which accounted for $261,020; France, $64,806; and the Netherlands, $35,116. Exports of bamboo furnishings, though more modest compared to bamboo furniture, brought in $365,398 in 2008 and $464,343 in 2011, but dropped to $100,521 in 2012. The main market was France, which bought 90 percent or $90,329 worth of bamboo furnishings from the Philippines in 2012. Amy R. Remo Continue reading
