November brought calm on the Serbian firewood market. There is enough firewoood in the timber yards, and its price has slightly decreased. Depending on the vendor, the price per cubic metre has fallen by between 500 and 2000 dinars (4 to 16 euros). Firewood is now available in some places for as little as 6500 dinars, or 55 euros.

Price didn’t matter in the summer, everyone wanted wood

This summer, people literally stormed the timber yards in Serbia. Everyone was trying to get the firewood ready in time as the Russia-Ukraine war and the European sanctions policy scared people. People in the Balkan country feared power cuts and a shortage of raw materials and, therefore, tended to stock up on almost everything.

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This led to sugar and milk shortages in Serbia, but also to a shortage of wood in the timber yards, which could not keep up with the huge demand. At the time, V4NA was told by several outlets that it was practically impossible to deliver the firewood immediately, and that buyers had to wait days or weeks for it. Moreover, as the price kept rising, vendors could not even guarantee what price they would eventually be able to deliver the goods at, but people still bought it. There were several instances where people who have never heated with wood before, bought wood this year as they regarded it as a safe bet. Even if it is more expensive, they wanted to ensure they could heat their homes in case of power cuts or gas shortages during the cold season. However, it now seems that everyone has managed to get enough wood, which has reduced demand and driven down the price.

Branko Glavonjic, a professor at the University of Forestry, told Serbian public media that

it is too early to make long-term forecasts, but the early indications are that the price is likely to fall in the coming period. The expert added that they are monitoring wood prices at lumberyards every two weeks, but it is already visible that the prices of firewood have decreased in the past half a month.

Prices are highest in the north, lower in forested areas

The price of a cubic metre of wood, however, is not the same in each city in Serbia. In Vranje, in the south, it is around 7000 dinars (60 euros), where as in Subotica, the northernmost city of Serbia it has decreased from 11,500 dinars (98 euros) to 11,000 dinars (93 euros) as of 1 November. The trend has continued since then, with prices as low as 6,500 dinars (55 euros) for a cubic metre being advertised on the internet.

The advertisement says that an entire orchard will be eliminated, and cherry trees are considered hardwood. They also undertake delivery in the city, and the price is 6,500 dinars per cubic meter. The customers interviewed by V4NA say that wood used to be much more expensive than this, with prices having been closer to 100 euros per cubic metre. Some complained that only 3 weeks ago they had bought the wood for 11,500 dinars, and they had been happy that they at least secured themselves for the winter.

The expert said that firewood is still the cheapest in the eastern part of southwest Serbia. The reason is that the area has an abundance of forests, which makes transport costs insignificant and the wood readily available to everybody. There, wood costs 6,500 dinars, or 55 euros.

In addition to subsiding demand, according to Professor Glavonjic, the decrease in wood prices were also influenced by the Serbian government limiting its foreign export.