Par Chloé Berry
Published on
Finally lower prices. For months, many everyday products have seen their prices increase due to inflation.
But consumers will be able to breathe a little. For several months, the price of a flagship product for heating our interiors has been falling: pellets.
These small pellets made of sawdust, which are put in a stove designed for this purpose to heat the room, had experienced a significant price increase in 2022, especially during the summer.
But today, a return to normal is noted by the sector. “Prices are falling”, assures Eric Vial, director of Propelletnational association of wood pellet heating professionals, thatactu.fr has contacted.
“Today, the ton of pellets can be bought between 500 and 550 euros per ton. In the summer of 2022, it was between 800 and 900 euros,” he adds.
A mild winter and a drop in demand
How can this drop be explained? The particularly mild winter and the decrease in demand pellet stove owners are the two obvious causes.
“There is a return to a normal situation, because demand is normal”, argues Éric Vial.
Much of last year’s increase was fictitious. It was a cyclical rise, because with the anxiety of rising energy prices, many people bought pellets earlier.
According to a Propellet survey conducted by Viavoice thatactu.fr was able to consult, 50% of people would have bought pellets earlier than usual.
This “feeling of shortage” forced the industry to resort to imports, which drove up prices.
“As the winter was mild, there was a relaxation of the market. There is no shortage of pellets to be feared for the moment”, assures us the general manager of Propellet.
Prices vary by region
According to Propellet, this return to normal has really been effective since February 2023.
The easing has been perceptible since December, but the first concrete effects on prices have only been effective since the end of January 2023.
According to the general manager, there is a “great disparity in price” of pellets from one region to another due to stock variability. Some companies that would not have a lot of inventory will still show high prices.
To find out the average price of pellets in your region, the TotalEnergies website provides you with a interactive tool to find an agency near you.
A return to normal to qualify
However, if the return to normal is well observed, the “pre-prices” are not necessarily back.
Salary, transport, energy, raw materials (the sawdust that comes from sawmills has increased by 30% between 2021 and 2022, according to the Center for the Study of the Economy of Wood (CEEB)… THE production costs remain high and are still reflected in the price of pellets.
If today, the ton of pellets is bought between 500 and 550 euros per ton, it is still double compared to last year, according to a CEEB survey. An observation that Eric Vial also confirms to us.
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