Pellets have become significantly more expensive. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection indicates the reasons and appeals to the government

Pellets have become significantly more expensive

According to the government website cielo.gov.pl, the price per tonne of pellets started from PLN 1,733 in Greater Poland in June, and at the beginning of September it reached PLN 2,400 in the province. Łódź.

Average retail prices of certified A1 quality class pellets (the highest quality pellets for use in boilers and stoves for household heating) increased by 20-30%. compared to June 2025 - the Polish Pellet Council reported in July. Depending on the region, manufacturer and sales channel, this increase may be even higher.

UOKiK: The government has specific tools in its hands

The main reason for the increase in pellet prices is the growing popularity of stoves using this fuel and the simultaneous limited supply - said the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection at the end of August. The Office's analyzes did not reveal any practices prohibited by law that would restrict competition on the market.

"Our analysis clearly indicates that the reason for the increase in pellet prices are systemic problems, in particular the mismatch of the supply of pellets from domestic resources to the popularity of wood stoves, including those co-financed by the Clean Air program. They are very likely to occur also in the next heating season. The government has tools to limit their negative effects, in particular the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Climate and Environment, which supervise PGL State Forests," emphasized Tomasz Chróstny, president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, quoted in the release.

According to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, the government could take specific actions regarding the situation on the pellet market:

The Ministry of Energy may decide to limit the consumption of pellets by energy and heating companies in order to protect individual consumers against price increases. In turn, the Ministry of the Environment, which supervises PGL State Forests, influences the domestic supply of wood from which pellets are produced.

“It is not too late to act,” added the president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

It is also worth noting that in July the Polish Pellet Council proposed introducing a tax relief for buyers of pellets for heating and enabling the use of pellets of agricultural origin.

Ministry of Energy on the reasons for the increases

In response to questions from the Polish Press Agency, the Ministry of Energy admitted that pellet prices remaining higher than last year are due to, among others, from increased demand.

"Prices are also influenced by the limited availability of biomass, the increase in the prices of raw material for pellet production, including sawdust, and other production costs," the ministry added.

At the same time, he stated that energy and heating companies use primarily those types of biomass that are not used in individual heating, including: technical pellets, chips and by-products of the wood industry.

"High-quality wood pellets used by households constitute a separate market segment," the ministry emphasized.

It assured that it monitors the situation on the fuel and energy market. The ministry also supports "wider use of agricultural biomass available in the country", which - in its opinion - may reduce the pressure on woody biomass in the long run.

In the opinion of the Ministry of Energy, ensuring an adequate supply of wood raw material by the State Forests is also important for the situation on the pellet market.

Ministry of Climate and Environment: Access to the raw material has not been limited

In turn, the Ministry of Climate and Environment, in response to questions from the Polish Press Agency, emphasized that the volume of wood harvested by the State Forests has remained stable in recent years; in 2023 it was over 39 million m3, in 2024 - over 40 million m3 and over 39 million m3 in 2025.

"This means that access to the raw material has not been limited," argues the ministry.

In the opinion of the Ministry of Climate, the main challenge is currently the growing competition for available biomass resources between the wood industry, energy, heating and households. According to the ministry, this applies in particular to wood processing by-products, such as sawdust, chips and shavings, which are the basic raw material for pellet production.

"The conclusions from the conducted analyzes indicate that the key challenge currently is not the level of wood harvesting, which remains stable, but the effective management of biomass resources. Therefore, the implementation of the principle of cascading use of wood, diversification of biomass sources and the gradual transformation of heating towards solutions based on electrification and other emission-free energy sources are important," said the Ministry of Climate.

The principle of cascading use of wood, mentioned by the ministry, involves first processing the raw material into durable products, and only then possibly burning it for energy purposes. As the ministry emphasized, the idea is to "ensure more efficient use of wood and limit the burning of raw materials that can be used as materials, and not to limit the level of wood harvesting or the availability of raw materials for industry."