Eastwood Energy Joint Stock Company on Thursday signed a long-term contract with CellMark, a global supply chain service company, to sell a minimum of 300,000 tonnes of wood pellets a year from 2021 for export to Japan.

Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony, Pham Trung Cang, chairman of Eastwood Energy, said its supply to CellMark has been increasing sharply every year, rising from 19,800 tonnes in 2015 to 324,600 tonnes last year.

This is the first time the two have signed a long-term deal, he said.

“Japan is a challenging market in many respects, but we believe Eastwood Energy and CellMark, each with different strengths, can work together to please difficult customers in this market.”

Craig Jakson, vice president of CellMark Asia Pte. Ltd, said Korea is now a large market for wood pellets, but Japan will be larger by 2023 and double Korea’s size by 2028.

The supply in Asia is around 3.6 million tonnes, and demand is expected to outstrip supply by 2022, he said.

Cang said: “Wooden pellets are biomass fuel made from products such as wood shavings, sawdust and logging residues. Heating with wood pellets offers distinct advantages over conventional fossil heating fuels.”

Viet Nam has abundant raw materials for wood pellet production, he said.

In addition, with increasing demand for biomass energy, his company has invested and would invest further in advanced machinery and technologies and expand production, he said.

At the ceremony, Eastwood Energy donated VND500 million (US$21,527) to the Thien Tam Charitable Fund run by Tan Dai Hung Plastic Joint Stock Company to sponsor heart surgeries for poor patients and grant scholarships to poor students.

Founded in 2013, Eastwood Energy is a manufacturer and supplier of biomass products including wood chips, sawdust, and wood pellets from its factory in Binh Phuoc Province. — VNS