It’s a bit of the same music as last year. While autumn has very discreetly set in in France, some owners of stoves and fireplaces are still trying to have wood delivered to heat them this winter. If the fear of a major energy blackout against a backdrop of armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia seems to have been ruled out, the firewood market remains particularly tense and, in many regions, we must wait several months to hope have its oak or beech logs. “We cannot do more or better. Today, we cannot buy wood the same way we fill up with gasoline. I am fully booked all year round to deliver. So in season, the deadlines get longer, I have no choice,” says Pascal Canadell.
While the month of September is not yet over, the manager of Bois Énergie in Gironde often leaves his new customers disappointed when he announces delivery times of more than three months. “We have just moved to January 2024,” he concedes. In his region, the year 2023 is particularly complicated, in particular because of the fires which ravaged the Aquitaine forest last summer. But he is not the only one to be in great demand. Throughout France, log sellers are bombarded with requests, under the combined effect of the rise in the price of electricity and gas and the explosion in sales of stoves and fireplaces (+30% over one year) .
The price of the stere on the rise
“We are full until December because we have a lot of new customers. For us, it’s +40% more deliveries over the last six months,” says Jérôme Bougeard, the largest seller of firewood in Ille-et-Vilaine with 20,000 m³ cut. Another smaller retailer in the sector explains “no longer answering the phone when the number is not registered”.
This year, customers who were able to receive deliveries nevertheless felt the weight of inflation on their bills. The stere (the unit of measurement for wood equivalent to 1 m³) has increased by 20% on average, an increase of 10 to 15 euros depending on the region. In the 50 centimeter format, the price per stere now exceeds 100 euros. Knowing that some people order around ten when they only heat with wood, the increase can be painful. “We are in a business that has very little margin, we have no choice but to pass on the increases in our costs,” recognizes Pascal Canadell.
Electricity increases, so does fuel…
The surge in fuel prices weighs heavily, particularly due to the transport of wood. “As supplies are tight, we have to go further to get supplies so road costs increase. It’s an activity that requires a lot of work, people need to understand that,” recalls this small retailer from the Rennes region. Very electricity-intensive, cutting machines and splitters have also increased farmers’ energy bills, tripling their processing costs.
Despite this notable increase, the craze for log wood does not seem to be dying down, in particular because its price remains competitive compared to other heating methods. “Look at the price of fuel oil, it has doubled in one year,” notes a professional in the sector. In 2022, logs returned at 0.03 euros per kilowatt hour, compared to 0.06 for pellets, the price of which exploded last year. This is less than natural gas (0.08 euros) and fuel oil (0.09 euros) and above all a far cry from electricity (0.18 euros). “We expected an increase in demand because we observed sales of appliances such as stoves. What has changed is also the quality of the wood requested. Modern devices have excellent yields but they require quality, well-dried wood,” recalls Aymeric Albert, head of the wood sales department at the National Forestry Office. Please note that wood considered “dry” must have a humidity level of less than 20%, i.e. eighteen drying times after it has been cut.
The resource manager, however, wants to be reassuring about the evolution of the price of logs, which are currently beyond speculation. “France is able to supply so we are avoiding for the moment the effects of dumping as was the case with pellets. The increase in the price of wood is mainly due to the increase in operator costs,” continues the head of the ONF. With the tension on demand and the rise in prices, its administration fears that individuals will turn to less qualitative solutions which have the disadvantage of being less virtuous for the resource but also for the environment. Because if wood heating is a renewable energy, it also emits fine particles when it is misused. “You have to be wary of the classified ad. Poor quality wood or wood that is not dry will only have a very low yield. The individual will be the first to be penalized,” warns Aymeric Albert. His advice for delivery without stress? “You have to anticipate and order at the end of spring. The wood will have even more time to dry.”