It is off the mark.
Harry Herion, at what price do you sell your pellets?
It amounts to €9.60 per bag, i.e. €624 per pallet of 65 bags of 15 kg. Not so long ago, I was selling it for €3.60, or €234 per pallet. And even if I am today at the lowest price, pellets are more expensive than fuel oil.
Do you consider yourself at the floor price, even at €9.60 per bag?
Yes, a competitor in the region already sells it for €10.80 (€660 per pallet) even though he also gets his supplies from Erda! And again, this is nothing compared to what is currently practiced in the Brussels region. A customer has just come from Woluwe because the bag is 14 € there! He told me that even going the 300 km (round trip) at the price of fuel, he was winning. Yeah, it’s almost 300 € more than here.
Some predict a dizzying rise. Up to €20 per bag of pellets. What do you think?
It wouldn’t even surprise me. But who benefits from these increases? I do not know. I know that our producer from Bertrige is having trouble getting supplies of sawdust because the sawmills are working less and the market for finished wood is slowing down, but that still doesn’t explain everything. I am also surprised that producers are busy grinding up freshly sawn boards to make pellets. We also speak of whole trees crushed. Where is far from the ecological idea of a product which makes it possible to valorize waste such as sawdust.
Are we therefore heading towards a price increase then?
I received a letter from my supplier telling me that from October 1, he was increasing the price by €100 per ton ex-factory. I will have to pass on this increase, i.e. €11.15 per bag (pallet at €725). Who will still heat with pellets at this price?