Lithuanian farmer burns grain for heat as cheaper than burning wood

Lithuanian farmer Petras Vaitelis inspects his furnace filled with oat grains to heat his house in Azuolaiciai, Lithuania November 14, 2022. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins

AZUOLAICIAI, Lithuania (Reuters) - A farmer in Lithuania is having to burn the oats he grows to feed his sheep and the wheat used to make bread in order to heat his home after the price of wood pellets shot up following the invasion of Ukraine.

Since imports of wood products from Russia and its ally Belarus were banned due to sanctions, the pellets which Petras Vaitelis, 72, used for his heating have soared to 600 euros per tonne, more than three times higher last year.