Wood pellets from other European countries

Raw material availability

Apart from the countries covered separately, wood pellets may reach the Polish market from Romania, the Balkan states, Scandinavia or Western Europe, among others. For these countries we do not yet have verified data on forest cover and forest structure, so we give no figuresData require verification: Forest data for Romania, the Balkans, Scandinavia and Western Europe have not yet been verified. We will complete this section once we have verified the official statistics.

Whatever the country, the same principle applies: for pellet quality, what counts is whether sawdust and shavings from the wood industry and stemwood go into pelletising — the only raw-material groups permitted in ENplus class A1^[1] — not how large the country's forest resources are.

Typical wood species

The species composition of Europe's forests varies greatly — from coniferous forests in the north to broadleaved and mixed forests in the south and in the mountains. Without verified data, we do not assign “typical” pellet species to countries. Two general patterns from fuel research are worth bearing in mind: hardwoods usually contain more ash than softwoods, and bark contains many times more ash than stemwood (an average of 2.97% versus 0.46% in Nordic data)^[44]. The share of bark and the purity of the raw material mean more than species alone — see our comparison softwood or hardwood.

The wood industry

The development of the wood industry and of wood pellet production varies widely between European countries. We do not describe it in figures until we have verified the dataData require verification: No verified data on the wood pellet industry in the remaining European countries. An indirect sign of an organised sector is the presence of ENplus national partners: licensers exist in France (Propellet France), Italy (AIEL), Spain (AVEBIOM), Portugal (AIMMP), Switzerland (proPellets.ch) and the United Kingdom (UK Pellet Council), among others, and in Sweden there is the national promotion association SVEBIO^[9]. The absence of a national licenser — as in Poland — does not, however, indicate weaker quality of products from that country.

Wood pellet exports

We do not give export volumes from individual countries to Poland — we have no verified data. The wood pellet trade involves many intermediaries, so the same product may pass through companies in several countries before it reaches the customer. That is why ENplus distinguishes between producers (numbers XX 001–299) and distributors (XX 301–899)^[3],[4] — the country prefix in the number indicates where the certified company is based, which is not necessarily the production plant.

Some of Europe's wood pellets are produced for the power sector. For this segment there is the SBP scheme — according to its website (as of 11 September 2026), it counts 449 certificates in 32 countries^[35]. Industrial pellets are subject to different classes and requirements from pellets for domestic boilers.

Uptake of certification

The uptake of certification varies from country to country, and we have no data with which to compare it. For the buyer, it is more important to distinguish between two types of certificate:

• Fuel quality — ENplus (classes A1, A2, B) and DINplus (A1). They relate to pellet parameters and production control^[1],[28].
• Raw-material origin — FSC and PEFC (chain of custody (Chain of Custody — a certificate confirming that wood-based material is tracked from the forest to the finished product at every change of ownership.)Chain of Custody — a certificate confirming that wood-based material is tracked from the forest to the finished product at every change of ownership.) and SBP. They tell you where the wood comes from and how it was sourced, but not about ash or durability^{[31],[33],[35]}.

Logistics to Poland

From EU countries, wood pellets move without customs clearance, within the single market. From countries outside the EU, such as the non-EU Balkan states, Switzerland or the United Kingdom, goods go through customs clearance and require documents confirming their origin. Road deliveries are usually full truckloads (in trade practice about 22–24 t); over long distances, sea or rail transport is also possible in wholesale trade. We do not give transport costs or times.

Whatever the country and the transport route, wood pellets placed on the Polish market — including those entered for release for free circulation — must meet the national quality requirements^[36].

Sanctions and other risks

Russia and Belarus

Since 2022, the European Union has banned imports of wood products under CN chapter 44, which covers wood pellets (CN 4401):

• from Belarus — Council Regulation (EU) 2022/355 of 2 March 2022; contracts concluded earlier could be performed until 4 June 2022^[38];
• from Russia — Council Regulation (EU) 2022/576 of 8 April 2022 (the 5th sanctions package), in force from 9 April 2022; contracts concluded earlier could be performed until 10 July 2022^[39],[40].

In parallel, the European Pellet Council suspended all ENplus-certified companies from Russia and Belarus, with effect from 15 April 2022. This affected about 70 producers and more than 1 million tonnes of certified capacity. No new applications are accepted from these countries, and according to the available sources the suspension has been neither lifted nor converted into a revocation^[10].

Other risks

• Unauthorised use of the ENplus mark — cases of misuse that are not resolved amicably are added to the public blacklist^[7].
• A long chain of intermediaries, which makes it harder to establish the plant and the production date.
• Industrial pellets sold as heating fuel — check the quality class.

How to check origin and the producer

The country of origin is no guarantee of quality — we assess the specific product, producer and batch. For wood pellets from less well-documented markets, the order of checks is the same as everywhere:

1. Certificate register. Check the ENplus number in the public database of producers or distributors (status: active, suspended, terminated)^[3],[4]. A copy of the certificate is not sufficient proof^[1].
2. The bag. The name and address of the owner of the bag design must match the company in the register, and the serial number identifies the packing company, the plant and the date of packing; stickers and handwritten additions are not allowed^[2].
3. Chain of custody. If the producer claims FSC or PEFC certification, check the certificate in the scheme's search tool^[32],[34].
4. Commercial documents. Consistency of the plant details on the invoice, the transport documents and — for imports from outside the EU — the customs documents.
5. Test report showing the date, the name of the laboratory and the methods, ideally on a sample from the delivered batch.

Details: certificate verification and laboratory testing.