Despite the COVID-19 spread, Vietnam earned 13.17 billion USD from wood exports in 2020, up 16.4 percent year-on-year. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam should develop ageneration of young entrepreneurs in the timber industry, and consider it asector for startups, said President of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association(HAWA) of HCM City Nguyen Quoc Khanh.
At a recent conference between businesspeople andPrime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Khanh said Vietnam now ranks second worldwidein wood export, even outstripping Italy and Germany.
“We have completed the five-year target set by the PrimeMinister in 2018 two years in advance,” he said.
Despite the COVID-19 spread, Vietnam earned 13.17billion USD from wood exports in 2020, up 16.4 percent year-on-year, surpassingthe yearly target by 5.4 percent, Khanh said, adding that the sector ran atrade surplus of 10 billion USD last year.
He stressed that it is the only industry in Vietnamthat has posted double-digit growth over the past 18 years.
According to Khanh, about 1 million labourers areworking in the sector, and the number is predicted to stand at around 2-3million by 2045.
Emphasising the important role by the industry tothe national economy, Khanh expressed his belief that the sector can maintain thestrong growth and its present position in the world market in the next decades.
However, to achieve the goal, the industry shouldcontinue to engage in environmental protection, step up forestation and ensure marketsfor farmers’ products, he suggested.
He pointed to the ample space in the world market forthe Vietnamese timber industry, as it now makes up only 6 percent of the 450billion USD global market.
Khanh also suggested more investments in technologyand digital transformation, and raising added value for the sector./.
VNA
