The fear of high energy costs and possibly cold rooms has caused the demand for firewood to increase rapidly. This also increases the prices. According to Minister Backhaus, the state forest offices want to keep prices stable.
Schwerin (dpa / mv) – The price increases for gas and electricity are moving wood as a fuel back into focus. The state forest institute in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is also feeling the increased demand, the Ministry of Agriculture announced on Friday. Even before the start of the heating season, the amount of firewood sold this year is eight percent higher than the value for the whole of 2021. Around 42 percent of the forests in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are state-owned.
Demand has an impact on sales prices. For self-cut firewood, the forestry offices currently charge 14 euros per cubic meter, eleven percent more than in the previous year. Private customers would have to pay at least 40 euros per cubic meter for processed firewood. In the trade, three to four times as much is required.
“We expect that the demand for firewood will continue to increase in the autumn and winter months ahead of us. We are preparing accordingly,” said Minister of Agriculture Till Backhaus. In the forestry offices, wood can be purchased regionally for personal use. In addition, it is still possible for private consumers to cut firewood themselves in the forest after allocation.
For long-standing small customers, “a stable price level should be maintained,” said Backhaus. The prerequisite, however, is that the firewood actually goes into personal use. Including the necessary storage times, the fresh wood can only be burned in one to two years anyway.
Nationwide, prices had exploded in response to the strained gas supply. According to surveys by the Federal Statistical Office, firewood and wood pellets were on average almost 86 percent more expensive in August than a year earlier. Energy prices and the fear of cold heating have led to record demand for pellet heating systems and the associated fuel in recent months. Stoves and firewood are also in great demand.
According to the German Pellet Institute, a tonne cost an average of 763.76 euros in September. That was 222 percent more than a year earlier. According to the Federal Association of Firewood Traders, the firewood price from reputable dealers is on average around 150 euros per bulk cubic metre.
