USDA data shows US wood pellet exports increased 17% in 2018

The U.S. exported 6.04 million metric tons of wood pellets in 2018, up approximately 17 percent when compared to the 5.14 million metric tons exported in 2017, according to data released by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service on March 6.

According to the data, the U.S. exported wood pellets to nearly three dozen countries last year, although the volume of those exports was under 100 metric tons each for approximately half of those nations.

The U.K. was the top destination for U.S. wood pellet exports in 2018, at 4.71 million metric tons. Exports to Belgium-Luxembourg reached 580,394.9 tons, with exports to Denmark at 472,564.8 metric tons. Exports ranging in volume from 20,000 metric tons to 90,000 metric tons were also reported for Italy, Canada, the French West Indies, France, and the Netherlands. The FAS data shows the U.S. exported 1,733.7 metric tons of wood pellets to Japan last year, with 6,559 metric tons exported to South Korea.

Data released by the FAS estimates the total value for 2018 wood pellet exports at $812 million, with the U.K. accounting for $646 million of that value.

Additional data on 2018 wood pellet exports is available on the USDA FAS website.