The annual feedstock requirement of the 20+ biomass power plants that are being planned in the UK amounts to more than 30 million tonnes of green wood chips or equivalent biomass, more than is currently imported by Japan’s pulp and paper industry, which for years has been by far the world’s biggest wood chip market. In April 2010, Hawkins Wright will publish a multi-client study assessing the commercial implications of these investments.

MARKET CONDITIONS tightened through January, allowing producers to implement their price increases of $20-30/t without much resistance. Further increases of $30/t for most grades have been announced for February shipments. In China and other Asian markets, February prices have already been accepted, and they are quite likely to go through in Europe and North America despite ever more vocal opposition from papermakers.