Hanoi (VNA) – As many as 732 domestic businesses have obtained the Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody (FSC/CoC) Certification, taking the lead in Southeast Asia.
Of the number, 49 firms gained the certification of sustainable forest management with a total area of 226,500ha, according to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The cooperation between wooden processing firms and forest growers has helped to ensure materials and output, thus stabilising prices of wooden products.
Amid the increasing demand for wood with legal and clear origins, exporters have worked to complete production management system and enhance cooperation with farmers to access to materials meeting international standards, said VNFOREST.
The export value of forestry products is projected to hit 5.85 billion USD between January and August this year, increasing 13 percent on year and accounting for 23 percent of Vietnam’s total agro-forestry-fishery export.
According to estimations of VNFOREST, during the eight-month period, the trade surplus of forestry products will amount to 4.39 billion USD, of which 4.09 billion USD are contributed by the shipment of timber and wood products.
VNFOREST forecast forestry export to rise in the remaining months of the year, particularly to traditional markets like the US, China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the EU.-VNA