Fewer Households in Bulgaria Use Wood for Heating as Prices Rise and Supply Wanes

Fewer households in Bulgaria are relying on wood for heating. Although wood remains the preferred fuel source in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas, supply issues persist, particularly for elderly residents who struggle to split and store firewood. Asya Sarieva, an 88-year-old from the mountains, plans to heat her home with wood again this winter due to occasional power outages, according to a report from bTV. However, she notes that the cost of firewood has risen because she must pay extra to a private company for chopping and packaging it.

State forestry farms are currently selling firewood at 17% lower prices than last year, yet demand remains weak. Eng. Anatoli Elev, director of the State Forestry in Smilyan, attributes the reduced demand to last winter's mild temperatures, which may have led people to stock up on firewood. He mentioned that the price for one cubic meter of beech wood is 58 leva, including VAT, plus transportation costs that can range from 300 to 450 leva, depending on the delivery location. Softwood is priced at 48 leva, also inclusive of VAT.

Eng. Asen Karabov, deputy director of the South Central State Enterprise in Smolyan, reported that so far this year, their enterprise has sold 168,000 cubic meters of wood, supplying about 25,000 households. This marks a significant decrease compared to the same period last year when they serviced 35,000 households and sold 258,000 cubic meters. Overall, this represents about a 30% drop in sales compared to last year.

Despite the lower price of wood from state forestry farms, high transportation costs mean that heating expenses remain steep. Very few people are splitting timber themselves anymore, and those who require this service are charged an additional 150 leva per cubic...