South Africa, the only African country producing black liquor, recorded 16.4 PJ of energy content in 2023 — approximately 1% of the global total

Key takeaways:

The United States of America led the production of black liquor with 696.0PJ produced making up 38.9% of the global total produced in 2023.
South Africa is the only African country producing black liquor with 16.4PJ produced making up 1% of the global total.
The total amount of black liquor produced globally in 2023 was 1,787PJ.
Sweden, Canada, Finland and Japan produced 185.1PJ - 10.4%, 157.9PJ - 8.8%, 142.5PJ - 8.0% and 133.0PJ - 7.4% respectively.

Black liquor is the by-product from the kraft process when digesting pulpwood into paper pulp. It is a source of biofuel derived from organic, renewable biomass sources and a very important form of energy.

In 2023, the United States of America led the production of black liquor with 696.0PJ (petajoules) produced, making up 38.9% of the total quantity produced globally. Sweden, Canada, Finland and Japan produced 185.1PJ (10.4%), 157.9PJ (8.8%), 142.5PJ (8.0%), and 133.0PJ (7.4%), respectively.

South Africa is the only African country producing black liquor, with 16.4PJ produced, making up 1% of the global total. Comparing the growth of the pulp and paper industry in Africa with the fact that Africa produced only 1% of black liquor in 2023, it was revealed that there is a huge gap in the recycling of by-products, commonly called waste products, in Africa.

Source:

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://intelpoint.co/insights/south-africa-the-only-african-country-producing-black-liquor-recorded-16-4-pj-of-energy-content-in-2023-approximately-1-of-the-global-total/" title="South Africa, the only African country producing black liquor, recorded 16.4 PJ of energy content in 2023 — approximately 1% of the global total"><img src="https://intelpoint.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/black-liquor-production-689f29dba7036.webp" style="width: 80%; height: auto; max-width:960px;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; margin: 0 auto; display: block;" alt="Chart: South Africa, the only African country producing black liquor, recorded 16.4 PJ of energy content in 2023 — approximately 1% of the global total"/></a><br><span>Find more insights at <a href="https://intelpoint.co/insights?utm_source=Insight%20Embed&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=South+Africa%2C+the+only+African+country+producing+black+liquor%2C+recorded+16.4+PJ+of+energy+content+in+2023+%E2%80%94+approximately+1%25+of+the+global+total" target="_blank" style="color: #4f9acc; text-decoration: none;">Intelpoint</a>.</span></div>Copied to clipboard!

Period:

2023

HTML code to embed chart

Want a bespoke report?

Reach out

Related Insights

Nigeria’s power grid is 69.9% powered by thermal plants

Thermal energy dominates Nigeria’s grid, supplying 69.9% of total power.
Hydro plants contribute 30.1%, making them the country’s second major source.
The heavy reliance on thermal generation shows Nigeria’s grid is still largely fossil-fuel driven.
Hydro remains a crucial but secondary source, supporting overall supply stability.

Nigeria's DisCos recorded ₦360bn revenue gap after collecting ₦1.12tn from ₦1.49tn billed in H1 2025

DisCos billed approximately ₦1.49 trillion but collected only ₦1.12 trillion in H1 2025.
Ikeja and Eko DisCos generated the highest revenues, collecting ₦206.22 billion and ₦210.59 billion, respectively.
Revenue collection gaps remain significant, with Jos, Kaduna, and Yola posting the weakest collection performances.
The wide gap between billings and actual collections suggests persistent challenges in customer payment compliance, metering, and distribution efficiency.

Nigeria has installed 3.65 million electricity metres since 2019; Ikeja DisCo leads with 823,000, and Aba Power at the bottom with 56,000

Approximately 3.65 million metres have been installed nationwide across all frameworks since 2019.
Ikeja DisCo leads by a wide margin with 823,000 installations, over twice the volume of most other DisCos.
Kaduna, Yola, and Aba Power recorded the lowest metre installations, each below 100,000.
The disparities in installation totals reveal uneven progress in achieving nationwide metering coverage.

More than 8 in 10 electricity customers of Ikeja and Eko DisCos are now metered

Ikeja (84.6%) and Eko (83.3%) lead Nigeria’s metering performance, keeping unmetered customers below 17%.
Eight out of the twelve DisCos have metering rates below 60%, showing a wide sector imbalance.
The worst-performing DisCos — Yola, Jos, Kaduna, and Kano — have over 65% unmetered customers.
Regional disparities are sharp: Lagos and Abuja outperform northern and south-eastern DisCos by large margins.

Nigeria's agricultural imports' share has been dropping, from 83.9% (2017) to a low of 42.9% (H1 2025)

Agricultural imports fell from 83.9% in 2017 to 42.9% in H1 2025, indicating a significant decline in import dependency.
Agricultural exports grew from 16.1% in 2017 to 54.0% in 2024, surpassing imports for the first time since 2017.
Total agricultural trade increased from ₦1.1 trillion in 2017 to ₦8.2 trillion in 2024.
Between 2022 and 2024, the import share dropped significantly from 75.7% to 46.0%.

South Africa dominates Africa's battery energy storage pipeline, with over three times the capacity of Egypt, the next largest market

South Africa dominates with 30 battery storage systems, the largest by far.
Egypt is the second-largest market with 7 projects, while Morocco has 4.
Nigeria and Senegal have five projects each (operational + pipeline).
Several countries, including Ghana, Togo, Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, and Mauritius, each have just one or two projects, indicating an uneven spread across the continent.
South Africa also leads in systems under construction (7).
Operational projects are still limited continent-wide, with most systems either under construction or in the planning pipeline.