BERLIN, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Prices for firewood and wood pellets in Germany soared around 86 percent in August from a year ago amid the persisting energy crisis, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Thursday.
In view of rising gas, oil and electricity prices, more German families are turning to wood for heating. The demand spike for wood, coupled with higher buying prices and transport costs, has driven up the overall prices in the wood industry, Destatis said.
In August, overall prices for household energy in Germany rose 46 percent year on year, natural gas prices surged 84 percent, while heating oil was more than twice as expensive as in the same period of last year, according to Destatis.
To support Europe's largest economy and its citizens, the German government has launched three relief packages totaling 95 billion euros (94 billion U.S. dollars). These include short-term relief to cover the high heating bills in winter, as well as a general increase in welfare state payments starting from next year.
As the Germans turn to wood for heating, imports of wood-burning stoves went up by around 9 percent between March and July, according to Destatis. More than half of the imported stoves came from China.
In new residential buildings completed in Germany last year, wood has become the most important secondary source for heating, alongside solar thermal energy. (1 euro = 0.99 U.S. dollars) ■