Tri quoted statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) as saying that the export value of forestry products in the first five months of this year rose by 8.7 percent year-on-year to US$3.43 billion. In May alone, the export revenue reached at $663 million.
Vietnam’s exports of forestry product are expected to top $9 billion this year
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Notably, in the period, the forestry industry had high export value but low import value, which resulted in a trade surplus.
The United States, China, Japan and South Korea were the four largest export markets of Vietnam’s timber and wood products in the first five months of 2018, Tri said.
To promote the export of forest products, MARD is currently promoting a program of development and protection forestry.
Vietnam’s exports of forestry product are expected to top $9 billion this year, according to the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA).
Vietnam’s wood products exporters have many opportunities to enlarge markets this year as both domestic and global demands for the products are forecast to rise significantly.
According to HAWA Vice Chairman Huynh Van Hanh, the world’s demand for interior furniture is predicted to increase by 3.5 percent in 2018, while trade for timber products will rise by 4 percent.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said that China, the world’s largest supplier of wooden products, has imposed export taxes on wooden products. It faces a lawsuit in the United States for dumping furniture, reducing the competitiveness of its products.
Other main furniture producers like Germany and Italy have cut production due to higher costs, while Malaysia and some other ASEAN members have development strategies but lack the workforce required.
Global demand for furniture remains high, and though Vietnam is strong in that area its exports are insignificant, which means there is considerable scope for Vietnamese firms to increase their market share.
It would have opportunities to expand its market share in the global market since there is an increase in demand, Cuong said.
Nguyen Lien, general director of Lam Viet Joint Stock Company, also said the market for wooden products is good now with many international buyers shifting from China to Vietnam.
His company had earned $21 million from furniture exports last year, and it is expected to increase by 20-25 percent to $25-27 million this year.
However, Cuong noted that consumers have increasingly higher demands and furniture producers need to improve quality, designs and features to add value to their products.
Besides, firms need to invest more in technology and business management to raise productivity and sustain quality.
They should diversify timber sources to avoid the risk of high prices while saying no to illegal sources, he said.
Vietnam’s exports of wood and wooden products increased by 12.3 percent a year for the past seven years, and are forecast to rise even faster in the next three years.
The rise helped Vietnam become the world’s fifth largest exporter of wood and wooden products with a market share of 6 percent. The country is also the largest exporter of those products among ASEAN member nations and the second largest in Asia.
The export value of the products is expected to reach $8.5 billion this year and $10 billion by 2020.
