ENERGY EXCHANGE TRADE OVERVIEW OF 2018

The biomass exchange in Lithuania in 2018: active trade and self-regulation

• The prices of biomass that had rocketed in early autumn and shocked market participants dropped considerably by the end of the year;
• Over one year, the trade volume increased by 37% and amounted to EUR 86.11 million;
• Over 431 thousand toe of biomass was purchased, which accounts for more than 70 thousand woodchips transportation vehicles (more than 350 vehicles per day during the cold season);
• Over 5.7 thousand transactions were concluded;
• Starting from middle February, biomass buyers from Latvia started to be actively involved in the trade;
• In 2018, Latvian biomass suppliers occupied approximately 3.3% of the biomass market; this figure was 5% in October through December
• Transactions were implemented by 71 buyers and 117 sellers from Lithuania and Latvia;
• The weighted average prices under concluded transactions were 199.73 EUR/toe for woodchips, 373.22 EUR/toe for wood pellets and 136.71 EUR/toe for peat fuel.

The total turnover of the BALTPOOL exchange in 2018 increased by 37% (and amounted to EUR 86.11 million). In 2018, 5,784 transactions were concluded in the exchange (a 14% increase compared to 2017); the amount of purchased biomass increased by 4% (431 thousand toe) and the average price was 199.73 EUR/toe. The price of biomass increased by 31.5% compared to 2017.

SM2 quality woodchips were the most demanded type of biomass – the sales of these woodchips accounted for 62% of the total amount of biomass purchased via the exchange. SM3 woodchips were the second most popular product – the sales of these accounted for 30% of the total sales. The remaining amount accounted for other types of biomass.