Vietnam remains one of the world’s leading wood pellet exporters, with Japan and South Korea continuing to absorb the large majority of shipped volume. Based on an internal analysis of trade shipment records for HS code 4401.31 (wood pellets) covering January–March 2026, here’s a snapshot of where the market stood in the first quarter of the year.
Note: the Q1 2026 figures below are drawn from Phu Tai’s internal analysis of third-party trade shipment data and should be treated as approximate industry indicators rather than official government statistics.
Vietnam’s wood pellet exports had grown steadily for several consecutive years, reaching an estimated 6.9 million tonnes in 2025 – up from 6.03 million tonnes in 2024, itself already a record year. Based on our analysis, Q1 2026 volume came in at approximately 1.6 million tonnes, a pace that appears modestly lower – in the range of roughly 10% – compared with the same quarter of 2025, based on the most recent published industry figures available for that period.
Year-over-year comparisons for a single quarter can be affected by shipment timing rather than underlying demand, so this figure is best read as an early-year data point rather than a definitive trend for 2026 as a whole.
| Year | Export Volume (tonnes) | Export Value (USD) |
| 2022 | ~4.88 million | ~$787 million |
| 2023 | ~4.67 million | ~$680 million |
| 2024 | ~6.03 million | ~$805 million |
| 2025 | ~6.90 million | ~$1.01 billion |
| Q1 2026 | ~1.60 million | ~$234 million |
(2022–2025 figures reflect published industry-level data; Q1 2026 figures are based on Phu Tai’s internal analysis of trade shipment records and are approximate.)
Average pricing in our Q1 2026 analysis came in at roughly $146 per tonne across all shipments – broadly consistent with pricing levels reported industry-wide over the past two years, where Japan-bound cargoes have generally commanded a premium over other destinations due to stricter sourcing and certification requirements.
Consistent with the pattern seen throughout 2024–2025, Japan and South Korea together account for the overwhelming majority of Vietnam’s wood pellet export volume. In our Q1 2026 analysis, Japan alone represented roughly 70–75% of total shipped tonnage, with South Korea making up most of the remainder, and small volumes moving to markets including the Netherlands and Reunion.
This concentration reflects the structural demand from biomass power generation in both countries, where wood pellets serve as a coal-substitute fuel for industrial and utility-scale power plants.
The overwhelming majority of Vietnam’s exported volume – well over 99% based on our analysis – consists of industrial-grade wood pellets used as boiler fuel, with only a small share going to niche applications such as animal bedding pellets.
A modestly softer first quarter doesn’t necessarily signal a change in direction for the year. Demand fundamentals in Japan remain tied to the continued build-out of biomass power capacity, and long-term supply contracts – common in the Japanese market – tend to smooth out quarter-to-quarter volume swings for established suppliers.
For buyers evaluating Vietnamese suppliers, the more relevant question is usually supplier-specific: certification status, production capacity, and ability to meet consistent quality specifications over time – rather than short-term market-wide volume movements.
Phu Tai’s wood pellet operations, backed by FSC-certified forest resources and a combined production capacity of 210,000 MT/year across two operating plants, are structured for exactly this kind of long-term reliability. Contact our team to discuss specifications and supply planning for 2026 and beyond.
Data compiled from trade shipment records; figures are approximate and subject to revision.