In November 2025, Kanematsu Corporation marked a significant milestone by completing a major export shipment of about 33,000mt of wood pellets from Cai Lan Port, Vietnam to Japan.

This is the first large-scale shipment of such a 30,000mt level that we have successfully delivered to the Japanese market, demonstrating our growing capability and reliability as a biomass supplier.

The milestone also reflects our rapid expansion in renewable biomass energy, our readiness to serve high-demand markets and strengthen long-term partnerships with international sellers.

On the other hand, this achievement was made possible through strong cooperation with trusted suppliers, whose consistent quality, timely support, and commitment to sustainability played a vital role in ensuring the success of this shipment.

• Inside of the warehouse

• Loading to truck

• Loading to the vessel

1/  What is a Wood Pellet?

Wood Pellet is a fuel consisting of uniformly sized, cylindrical pieces measuring 6–8 mm in diameter and 5–40 mm in length. (Produced by compressing and solidifying wood). The amount of CO₂ absorbed through photosynthesis during the raw material's growth process offsets the CO₂ emitted during combustion, making it a “carbon-neutral” fuel that does not actually affect the increase or decrease of CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Kanematsu Vietnam sells these Wood Pellets in collaboration with Kanematsu Japan, to mainly biomass power plants in Japan.

2/ The situation of market for Wood Pellet in Japan

・After starting the FIT(Feed in-tarrif) system in 2012, import volume of Wood Pellet for power generation in Japan is increasing.

・Import volume of Wood Pellet in Japan, it was 200 million in 2020 and 630 million in 2024. It increased 3.2 times compared with 2020. And Vietnam occupied 52% of importing volume (2024).

・Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, Japan has pledged to reduce 46% of greenhouse gas emissions compared with 2013  by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Demand for Wood Pellets is expected to increase further to meet these targets, and consequently, demand for Wood Pellets from Japan to Vietnam is also anticipated to grow.

(Source：mokuzai_yunyuu_genjou-82.pdf)

3/ The situation of market for Wood Pellet in Vietnam

・Currently, Vietnam is the world's second-largest producer of Wood Pellets after the United States. Its primary export destinations are Japan and South Korea, these 2 countries occupy approximately 95% of its export volume.

・In 2024, export volume doubled compared with 2020 and the volume was 6 million tons. As mentioned above, this increase was primarily due to a significant rise in exports to Japan.

(Source：20250607_Vietnam-wood-pellet-production-and-trade-2024-EN.pdf)

The following shows the price trends for Vietnamese Wood Pellets (for Japan and South Korea):

• In 2022, price temporarily rose due to a sharp decrease in Russian Wood Pellet supply caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. However, in recent years, price is stable.
• For shipments to South Korea, prices are typically lower than those for Japan due to less strictness guaranteed specifications.

Land area in Vietnam is approximately 33 million hectares, forest land is occupied 14.6 million hectares of that. It shows Vietnam's potential to contribute to carbon neutrality. Regarding Wood Pellets for Japan, only those with guaranteed sustainability and legality are permissible.  Kanematsu follows compliance with these conditions with each supplier and delivers only products meeting these requirements to Japan.

(Source：20250607_Vietnam-wood-pellet-production-and-trade-2024-EN.pdf)

By providing stable and sustainable biomass fuel, cooperating with domestic and overseas partners, we contribute directly to the development of renewable energy field continuously.