"Demand has exploded": Firewood is scarce in Bavaria - prices are rising massively

Created: 07/16/2022, 15:57

By: Philipp Kessler, Dominik Göttler

Ever since the Ukraine war raged, the demand for firewood has skyrocketed.

© Christin Klose/dpa-tmn

The future of the gas supply is in the stars because of the Ukraine war.

The demand for firewood in Bavaria is exploding.

Munich/Hohenbrunn – Benno Maier from Hohenbrunn in the district of Munich has been selling firewood for many years.

But there has never been such a rush as this year.

Up to 100 calls with orders were recently received - per day.

"It's totally out of character," he says.

"Normally we don't start taking orders before autumn." But this year he even sold wood that wasn't even dry enough to heat.

The rush was so great that he has now put a notice on his website: Firewood sold out.

Please do not call.

Firewood: "It is noticeable that the orders are increasingly coming from the cities"

That's what it sounds like for many forest farmers and firewood dealers in Bavaria.

"This is a large-scale phenomenon," says Hans Ludwig Körner from the Bavarian Forest Owners' Association.

"Many forest farmers are practically sold out." Gerd Müller, head of the office of the Federal Association of Firewood, says: "The market is empty.

Getting dry firewood this year is almost impossible.” The triggers are obviously the sharp rise in gas and heating oil prices and the concern that the heating could stay cold in winter.

"It is noticeable that the orders are increasingly coming from the cities," says Körner.

It is not due to the amount of wood in the forest that there is hardly any firewood available at the moment.

"On the contrary," says Körner.

"Due to the conversion of the forest to a more climate-resistant mixed forest, the supply of firewood will even increase in the future." But that will take time.

Hardly any wood is felled in the summer anyway.

And before the newly felled wood can be burned in the autumn, it first has to dry for one to two years.

Many dealers are already reacting and having their wood "technically" dried with an air blower.

Only dead wood - for example due to drought - can be burned immediately.

Ster Holz is becoming more expensive: "In winter we will crack 200 euros"

The scarcity also affects prices.

Already in winter the demand for firewood was slightly higher than in previous years.

A market analysis by the State Institute for Forestry and Forestry showed an average price of 114 euros per square meter of hardwood from firewood dealers in Bavaria for the winter.

According to Johann Killer from the forest owners' association in Wolfratshausen, Ster hardwood from forest farmers is now between 130 and 150 euros - in hardware stores it is sometimes significantly higher.

Firewood dealer Sepp Spitzl from Grafing in the Ebersberg district is certain: "In winter we will crack 200 euros." He has also turned his phone on quiet because he can no longer deal with the many inquiries.

“This year there are forty times as many calls as usual. 80 percent of them are people who have never bought from me before.

The consumer protection portal "Watchlist Internet" recently even warned of fraudsters who advertise cheap goods in alleged firewood shops on the Internet.

Killer's tip: If the only payment option is prepayment, you should stay away from the offer.

"This is absolutely unusual in our industry."

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Parallel to firewood, the demand for wood-burning stoves is also increasing

Parallel to firewood, the demand for wood-burning stoves is also increasing.

"When the war broke out, demand exploded," says a spokesman for the Central Association for Sanitary, Heating and Air Conditioning.

At least some customers will probably not get their stove before the end of next winter.

According to the association, the waiting time is sometimes a year.

“The utilization runs through the entire federal territory, even across the whole of Europe.

We know that from the exchange with European colleagues.” There are also delivery problems, for example with the chamottes, the refractory bricks with which the combustion chamber is lined.

Incidentally, the price increase does not only affect firewood.

The average price for wood pellets has almost doubled since January 2021 – to 431 euros per ton.

However, according to the German Energy Wood and Pellet Association, the costs per kilowatt hour are still significantly lower at 8.6 cents than for oil or gas heating, which were both just under 15 cents per kilowatt hour in June.

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