Polish pellet prices rise as wood supply fails to match heating demand
Poland’s competition authority says rising pellet prices reflect a shortage of domestic wood feedstock rather than anticompetitive conduct. Demand is increasing as more households install pellet and wood boilers, while straw pellets are attracting attention as a cheaper alternative.
Boiler adoption outpaces pellet supply
Poland’s rising wood pellet prices are being driven by growing heating demand and constrained access to wood feedstock, rather than collusion among producers or sellers, according to an analysis by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, known as UOKiK.
Top Agrar Polska and DlaHandlu report that about 450,000 Polish households now use pellet or wood boilers, an increase of more than 90,000 compared with 2023. In 2025, approximately 77% of applications for heating-source replacement subsidies under the Clean Air programme concerned pellet and wood boilers. As additional subsidised units enter service, UOKiK expects fuel demand to continue rising.
Domestic production has not expanded at the same pace. High-quality A1 pellets are made primarily from sawdust and other residues generated by sawmills, making output dependent on activity and raw-material availability elsewhere in the timber chain. UOKiK highlighted reduced wood sales by the State Forests as one factor limiting supply, while stressing that the broader problem is the mismatch between available domestic pellet volumes and actual consumption.
No evidence of restricted competition
The rapid price increase prompted UOKiK to examine whether companies were coordinating prices, abusing a dominant position or engaging in other prohibited conduct. Its analysis found no practices restricting competition in pellet sales. The authority therefore classified the situation as a systemic supply-and-demand problem rather than grounds for an antitrust intervention.
UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny said there was a high probability that the same difficulties would affect the next heating season. For households and farms using pellets, the risk extends beyond elevated costs to the possibility of limited fuel availability during the period of peak consumption.
The authority informed the energy minister about the market’s problems and possible responses three times in 2026—in February, April and July. UOKiK said the government still had time to act. The Energy Ministry could consider limiting pellet consumption by energy and district-heating companies to protect individual customers from price increases. The Ministry of Climate and Environment, which supervises the State Forests, can influence domestic availability of the wood used by pellet manufacturers.
Regulation could tighten feedstock further
The EU Deforestation Regulation, or EUDR, may add pressure later. According to Top Agrar Polska and DlaHandlu, UOKiK expects the regulation’s implementation at the end of 2026 and in mid-2027 could restrict sawdust supply. The authority does not identify EUDR as the principal cause of current increases, but sees it as a potential constraint in subsequent years.
The findings show that intervention at the retail end alone would not resolve the shortage. Pellet availability depends on wood sales, sawmill processing and the allocation of residues, as well as demand from households, energy companies and heating operators. Unless fuel and feedstock supply increases in line with the installed boiler base, buyers could face renewed pressure in the next heating season.
Straw pellets draw interest as prices diverge
WNP reports that wood pellets can cost as much as 2,600 zł per tonne, while straw pellets are priced at about 600–900 zł per tonne. That gap is drawing attention to agricultural residues as an alternative fuel. However, switching depends on whether a boiler is technically suitable for straw pellets, so the lower quoted price does not make them a direct substitute for every household.
For wood pellet producers, the central issue remains access to sawdust and timber-processing residues. For consumers and fuel distributors, procurement timing and winter availability are becoming as important as the headline price. Government decisions affecting industrial pellet use and State Forests wood supply will therefore be closely watched before peak heating demand returns.
