Vietnamplus

Vietnam eyes the wood processing industry to be a major economic sector by 2030.

More than 100 Vietnamese and foreign firms are showcasing advanced wood processing technologies, machinery and raw materials at the 2022 Vietnam BIFA Wood exhibition which opened in southern Binh Duong province on August 8.

Building stable labour supply chains with labourers put at the centre of all policies and emphasis laid on ensuring income and social security is one of the solutions to post-pandemic economic recovery, heard a seminar in the framework of the 4th Vietnam Economic Forum held in Ho Chi Minh City on June 5.

The National Private Economic Development Research Board and the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City have launched an initiative to develop a chief information officer network for the wood and wood processing industry to foster its digital transformation.

Businesses in Vietnam are facing new challenges brought by the Russia – Ukraine conflict in addition to lingering COVID-19 problems.

As the export of Vietnam’s timber and wooden products posted positive signs in the first two months of 2022, many firms are increasing capacity to meet the schedule of orders until the end of this year’s second quarter.

Rubber is one of the industries posting good performance despite many sectors struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leaders of the northern province of Bac Giang on February 18 had a working session with Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro, during which they expressed their hope to partner with Italy in agricultural production and processing.

As the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections has been slowly declining and Ho Chi Minh City has been gradually reopening the economy, workers are being called back to factories in the hope of restoring production to normal level.

Ho Chi Minh City will need about 127,000 - 147,000 workers from now to the end of this year, and the demand varies according to the COVID-19 situation, the city’s Human Resources Forecast and Labour Market Information (FALMI) Centre said on July 27.

Nearly 4,200 hectares of forest owned by Quy Nhon Forestry Co., Ltd in the central province of Binh Dinh have been granted the sustainable forest management certificate in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards.

Despite a tough year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the national wood sector looks set to achieve its export turnover target of 12 billion USD, and some wood processing businesses have so many orders while they are in short of workers to complete them, according to the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (Vietforest).

The central province of Binh Dinh posted a 21 percent year-on-year increase in wood exports to 373 million USD during January-August despite disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The wood processing industry is to become a spearhead economic sector by 2025, posting export turnover of about 20 billion USD to contribute to socio-economic development and stabilise the livelihoods of people living in forested areas.

The northern province of Bac Giang is encouraging entities, businesses, and households to invest in production forest development.

The export value of the wood processing and forestry sector was 2.18 billion USD in the second quarter of 2020, dropping 11.3 percent against the first quarter and 20 percent against the same period last year.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, the wood industry still enjoyed 3.2 billion USD in exports in the first four months of 2019, up 6 percent year on year, thanks to businesses’ efforts to switch to online trading and find new markets.

Many wood processing firms have managed to operate despite the COVID-19 pandemic and many have even chalked out measures to take advantage of the opportunities on offer when the pandemic is over.

Vietnam's export value of wood and wooden products reached 2.7 billion USD in the first quarter of 2020, representing a year-on-year increase of over 16 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Domestic wood processing enterprises are urged to use more online commercial channels to find new markets and customers, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic.