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SEATTLE, WA, Apr. 27, 2013/ Troy Media/ – The wood pellet export industry in North America has grown exponentially in a relatively short period of time. The export value has increased from an estimated $40 million in 2004 to almost $400 million in 2012. This fairly new trade development is the result of Europe’s quest to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and to reduce CO2 emissions. Energy generation from renewable resources has, with varying pace, gone up in all countries in the EU the past decade. Woody biomass, including wood pellets, is one energy source that has attracted both much attention and investments in a number of countries on the European continent. With limited domestic wood raw-material sources, countries such as the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands have increasingly relied on the importation of industrial wood pellets to reduce the usage of coal at some of their power utilities. The relatively high costs for wood pellets in Europe have resulted in increased interest in importing pellets from British Columbia and the southern states of the U.S., where wood raw-material costs are lower than in Europe. A record volume of 3.2 million tons of pellets was exported from North America to Europe in 2012. From the U.S. South, shipments were up over 100 per cent compared to 2011, while Canadian exports increased 25 per cent year-over-year. The expansion of pellet production has been particularly noteworthy in the U.S. South where there have been 14 new pellet plants that are either new or planning to expand production in the coming year. Global timber market reporting is included in the 52-­page quarterly publication Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). The report, established in 1988 and with subscribers in over 25 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices and market developments in most key regions around the world. To subscribe to the WRQ, please go to www.woodprices.com . Read more Hakan Ekstrom Continue reading →