Timber & Pallet Export · Ireland
Timber & Pallet Exporter for Ireland
EPAL/EUR pallets, custom pallets and wood pellets supplied from a Galician sawmill to Irish wholesalers and importers, on full EU trade terms, moved by sea as part of the route.
Ireland is a full EU member state, which means trade with an Irish buyer runs on the same customs-free, single-market terms as any other EU destination this site covers: no import duties, no border customs clearance, and standard intra-EU VAT treatment for B2B buyers. What sets Ireland apart from those other destinations is geography, not trade status — it is an island, separated from the European mainland by sea, so a shipment from Galicia to an Irish buyer cannot travel by road alone the way it can to Portugal, France, Germany or the Low Countries. Maderas Caamaño supplies EPAL/EUR pallets, custom-made pallets and wood pellets from its sawmill in Vimianzo, Galicia, and this page sets out honestly how that supply reaches Irish buyers, including the sea crossing that every shipment to Ireland has to make.
That extra logistics step is worth being upfront about rather than glossing over. It's written for pallet wholesalers, timber importers and biomass distributors sourcing into Ireland who already understand that an island market works differently from a mainland one, and who want a supplier that plans for that rather than treating Ireland as just another stop on a continental road route.
At a glance
| EU trade status | Full EU member state — no customs duties, standard reverse-charge VAT for B2B |
|---|---|
| Route type | Sea crossing required — direct continent-Ireland ferry, or UK landbridge with UK transit |
| Products for export | EPAL/EUR pallets, custom-made pallets, wood pellets |
| Pellet packaging options | Bulk (loose), 15kg bags, bulk bags |
| Typical full truckload (continental leg) | ~24-26 tonnes, or up to ~33 EPAL pallet positions |
| ISPM 15 requirement | Not required — Ireland is an EU destination |
| Incoterms | EXW, FOB, or delivered, agreed with the buyer |
An EU market, reached by sea
It's worth separating two things that are easy to conflate: Ireland's trade status, and Ireland's geography. On trade status, Ireland is unambiguous — it is an EU member state in the single market and customs union, so goods move between Spain and Ireland without import duties or customs clearance at a border, and B2B supply is typically handled under the same VAT reverse-charge mechanism used for intra-EU trade generally, provided the buyer holds a valid, VIES-verified EU VAT number. In that respect, buying from a Spanish sawmill is no different, on paper, than buying from a supplier in France or Germany.
Geography is the part that does differ. Every other EU country covered on this site — Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium — can be reached from Vimianzo by road alone. Ireland can't. It's an island off the north-western edge of continental Europe, so any shipment has to cross open water at some point in the journey, in addition to the road distance across Spain, France and beyond. That's not a trade barrier — there's no duty or clearance step tied to it — but it is a real logistics difference, and this page is written to address it directly rather than gloss over it.
Two ways a shipment can cross: direct ferry or the UK landbridge
In general terms, freight moving from continental Europe to Ireland reaches the island by one of two routes. The first is a direct ferry crossing between a continental European port and an Irish port, which keeps the whole journey within the EU customs union from origin to destination. The second is the UK landbridge: a ferry crossing to Great Britain, a road leg across the UK, and a second ferry crossing from Britain into Ireland.
Since the UK left the EU, the landbridge route now involves UK customs transit formalities for goods passing through Britain — a step that simply didn't exist when the UK was still inside the EU customs union. That's a genuine, well-documented change in how landbridge freight is handled, and it's a large part of why direct continent-to-Ireland ferry capacity has become a more relevant option in recent years: it avoids the UK transit step entirely by keeping the goods within the EU customs area for the whole journey. Either way, a shipment to Ireland typically takes longer than a road-only EU delivery, given the sea crossing involved — we don't quote a specific transit time here because it depends on the routing and crossing used for your particular order, and we'll confirm that as part of your quote.
EPAL/EUR and custom pallets for Irish wholesale buyers
Maderas Caamaño supplies EPAL/EUR pallets manufactured to the shared European specification, which is what allows them to be exchanged and continue circulating within the pan-European pallet pool once they reach an Irish warehouse or distribution point — the same specification a pallet buyer would expect from any EU supplier. Because Ireland is an EU destination, ISPM 15 heat-treatment marking, the requirement that applies to wood packaging shipped outside the EU, does not apply here; that's one part of the journey that stays as simple as any other EU route, even though the transport itself involves a sea crossing.
Where a standard EPAL/EUR footprint doesn't suit a particular product, load or piece of handling equipment, custom-made pallets are built to the specification supplied, so an Irish wholesaler serving several downstream customers isn't limited to one standard size.
Wood pellets for the Irish market
Maderas Caamaño also supplies wood pellets at 6mm or 8mm diameter with moisture content below 10%, manufacturing parameters aligned with the ENplus framework used across European pellet markets, available bulk, in 15kg bags, or in bulk bags depending on how an Irish importer or distributor needs to handle and store the product. As with pallets, the EU-to-EU trade terms apply in full — no customs duties, no ISPM 15 concern for the pellets themselves — with the sea crossing being purely a transport-routing matter rather than a trade or documentation one.
Documentation and terms
Shipments to Ireland are documented in line with standard European freight practice — a CMR consignment note covers the road legs of the journey, and the ferry or landbridge crossing is arranged as part of the overall routing. For B2B buyers with a valid, VIES-verified EU VAT number, intra-EU supply is typically handled under the standard reverse-charge mechanism rather than local VAT being charged at origin — the same treatment used for any other EU buyer on this site. A typical full truckload on the continental road leg carries roughly 24-26 tonnes, or up to about 33 EPAL pallet positions, as a general reference for planning order size. Terms are agreed per order under EXW, FOB, or delivered incoterms, whichever suits the buyer's own transport arrangements on either side of the crossing.
Frequently asked questions
Do we pay customs duties or need customs clearance on shipments from Spain to Ireland?
No. Ireland is a full EU member state, so trade with Spain runs on standard intra-EU terms — no import duties and no customs clearance at any border. The sea crossing that gets the goods to Ireland is a transport-routing matter, not a customs one.
Do our pallets need ISPM 15 heat-treatment marking for Ireland?
No. ISPM 15 marking is required only for wood packaging shipped outside the EU. Since Ireland is an EU destination, that requirement does not apply, the same as for our other EU export destinations.
How does a shipment actually get from Galicia to Ireland?
Since Ireland is an island, every shipment involves a sea crossing at some point — either a direct ferry route between a continental European port and Ireland, or the UK landbridge (a road crossing of Great Britain between two ferry legs, which since Brexit involves UK customs transit formalities). Either way, delivery typically takes longer than a road-only EU delivery, given the sea crossing. We'll confirm the routing and an estimated timeframe for your specific order when you request a quote.
Is there a minimum order for shipments to Ireland?
Given the sea crossing involved, shipments to Ireland are generally most efficient by the full truckload or equivalent consolidated volume. Contact us with your target product mix and volume and we'll confirm what's workable for your order and the best routing for it.
