Vietnam expects the export value for its wooden products to jump to 7 billion USD this year, according to the Vietnam Wood and Forestry Product Association.

The association said the export value will be higher than the 6.23 billion USD reported last year, because global demand for timber and wooden products is predicted to jump this year, while trade agreements that are expected to be signed this year will improve the export prospects for the domestic wooden industry, the Voice of Vietnam reported.

However, the industry will face challenges from trade agreements due to the high demand in the origin certificates for wood, while Vietnam must buy wood from many countries and not all countries possess the origin certificates, the association stated.

Nguyen Ton Quyen, the association's Chairman, said wooden product exporters have invested in new products that have high demand in the world market, such as wooden planks and artificial board, to promote exports this year.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Vietnam saw a decline of 8.3 percent during the first month of this year to 494 million USD, against the same period of last year.

Last year, the country reported a year-on-year surge of 11.1 percent in export value of wood and forest products to 6.23 billion USD.

The United States, Japan and China were the three largest markets for Vietnamese timber last year, accounting for 65.13 percent of the national total export value of timber and forest products.

With exports pegged at 6.23 billion USD last year, Vietnam was counted among the 10 largest exporters in the world, but accounted for a mere 2.68 percent of the total global exports, and can therefore still increase its market share, the association pointed out.-VNA