How much wood pellet does the UK import, and from where?

About 9.8 million tonnes in 2025, the most of any country. The United States supplied 7.23 million tonnes (74%), Latvia 1.14 million, Canada about 0.9 million and Estonia about 0.18 million. Nearly all of it is industrial grade for the Drax and Lynemouth power stations.

What changes for UK wood pellet imports in 2027?

From 1 April 2027 Drax and Lynemouth run under new contracts to 31 March 2031 that support generation only up to a 27% load factor and require 100% sustainably sourced fuel. Supported output at Drax is about 6 TWh a year, so the stations will burn fewer pellets than they do today, and fuel without full sustainability and greenhouse gas documentation cannot be used.

What documents does a UK power station buyer require?

Beyond the load-port certificate of quality and quantity, the buyer needs sustainability certification for the supply chain, normally under the Sustainable Biomass Program with FSC or PEFC chain of custody, and the greenhouse gas data that show the cargo is inside the limit in its support contract. A mill that cannot supply these is not a UK utility supplier, whatever its price.

Can I import heating pellets into the UK at the industrial price?

No. Industrial pellets are sold in bulk shiploads to power stations. Pellets for homes and small boilers are ENplus A1 grade, with ash at or below 0.7%, sold bagged or blown, and only a company certified under ENplus may sell them under that mark. German ENplus A1 was about EUR 449 to 465 per tonne delivered loose in October 2026, roughly twice the industrial cargo price.

How are wood pellets carried by sea?

In bulk carriers under the IMSBC Code, where wood pellets are a Group B cargo: they deplete oxygen and give off carbon monoxide in a closed hold, so holds and adjacent spaces are gas-tested before anyone enters, and the cargo is kept dry from loading to discharge. LaycanDesk, our chartering desk, prices the ship with the cargo.

Europe · United Kingdom

Wood Pellets Import UK (Immingham, Hull, Liverpool and Tyne)

About 9.8 million tonnes a year, three-quarters from the United States, into two power stations whose support terms change on 1 April 2027

The United Kingdom imported about 9.76 million tonnes of wood pellets in 2025, up 4.8% on the year and worth USD 2.29 billion, an average of roughly USD 235 per tonne landed. The United States supplied 7.23 million tonnes (74%), Latvia 1.14 million (12%) and Canada about 0.9 million (9%); other published counts for the year run from 9.6 to 9.9 million tonnes. US trade data show 704,657 tonnes loaded for the UK by vessel in July 2026 alone. The cargo is industrial pellet in bulk, discharged at Immingham, Hull, Liverpool and the Port of Tyne through dedicated covered handling with a combined capacity of about 12 million tonnes a year, and railed to Drax in Yorkshire; Lynemouth is supplied through the Tyne. Heating-grade ENplus pellets for homes and small boilers are a separate and much smaller trade, sold bagged or blown by certified distributors.

The rules change on 1 April 2027. The Renewables Obligation and the existing contracts end, and both stations move to low-carbon dispatchable contracts that run to 31 March 2031. Drax's contract, signed on 5 November 2025, carries a strike price of GBP 109.90 per MWh in 2012 prices and supports generation only up to a 27% load factor, about 6 TWh a year, which is expected to roughly halve the support paid today; the share of fuel that must be sustainably sourced rises from 70% to 100%, and material from primary and old-growth forest is excluded. Lynemouth's contract, published on 9 July 2026, sets GBP 154 per MWh in 2024 prices on the same 27% cap and lowers the supply-chain greenhouse gas limit from 55.6 to 36.6 gCO2e per MJ. For a seller the consequence is plain: UK demand after March 2027 is smaller, and a cargo without full sustainability certification and greenhouse gas data for its supply chain cannot be burned under these contracts. CBIL is a commodity brokerage: each lot is brokered between a named mill or exporter and a named buyer, against independent inspection at the load port and the sustainability documents the buyer's contract requires.

Need the full picture on this lane before you commit: imports by origin, landed cost, duties, standards, demand and logistics? Commission a market study.

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices biomass, PKS and wood pellet bulk freight on LaycanDesk.

The market in figures

UK wood pellet imports, 2025: about 9.76 million t, up 4.8%, USD 2.29 billion (other counts 9.6 to 9.9 million t)
Average landed value, 2025: about USD 235 per tonne
Origins, 2025: United States 7.23 Mt (74%) · Latvia 1.14 Mt (12%) · Canada 0.90 Mt (9%) · Estonia about 0.18 Mt
Discharge ports: Immingham · Hull · Liverpool · Port of Tyne, about 12 Mt a year combined capacity
Support from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2031: Capped at a 27% load factor · 100% sustainably sourced fuel · Lynemouth supply-chain limit 36.6 gCO2e/MJ
Price references, 2026: North-west Europe industrial pellets near USD 231/t CIF (8 Apr 2026) · US export value USD 193 to 209/t FOB (2026 months)

Landed values are the importing country's declared CIF, not CBIL prices.

Questions buyers ask

How much wood pellet does the UK import, and from where?: About 9.8 million tonnes in 2025, the most of any country. The United States supplied 7.23 million tonnes (74%), Latvia 1.14 million, Canada about 0.9 million and Estonia about 0.18 million. Nearly all of it is industrial grade for the Drax and Lynemouth power stations.
What changes for UK wood pellet imports in 2027?: From 1 April 2027 Drax and Lynemouth run under new contracts to 31 March 2031 that support generation only up to a 27% load factor and require 100% sustainably sourced fuel. Supported output at Drax is about 6 TWh a year, so the stations will burn fewer pellets than they do today, and fuel without full sustainability and greenhouse gas documentation cannot be used.
What documents does a UK power station buyer require?: Beyond the load-port certificate of quality and quantity, the buyer needs sustainability certification for the supply chain, normally under the Sustainable Biomass Program with FSC or PEFC chain of custody, and the greenhouse gas data that show the cargo is inside the limit in its support contract. A mill that cannot supply these is not a UK utility supplier, whatever its price.
Can I import heating pellets into the UK at the industrial price?: No. Industrial pellets are sold in bulk shiploads to power stations. Pellets for homes and small boilers are ENplus A1 grade, with ash at or below 0.7%, sold bagged or blown, and only a company certified under ENplus may sell them under that mark. German ENplus A1 was about EUR 449 to 465 per tonne delivered loose in October 2026, roughly twice the industrial cargo price.
How are wood pellets carried by sea?: In bulk carriers under the IMSBC Code, where wood pellets are a Group B cargo: they deplete oxygen and give off carbon monoxide in a closed hold, so holds and adjacent spaces are gas-tested before anyone enters, and the cargo is kept dry from loading to discharge. LaycanDesk, our chartering desk, prices the ship with the cargo.