Vietnam's export value of timber and wooden products stood at 7.3 billion USD in the first eight months of this year.( Photo daidoanket.vn) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Expertsbelieve Vietnam this year will reach its export target for timber and woodenproducts at 12 billion USD, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Import andExport Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the exportvalue of timber and wood products in August was estimated at 1.15 billion USD, up 21.7 percent year on year. Of which,the export value of wooden products was 924 million USD, up 35.2 percent compared to August 2019.
In the first eight months of thisyear, the export value of timber and wooden products stood at 7.3 billion USD, up 9.6 percent over the same period in2019, including 5.45 billion USD from wooden product exports, up 14 percent.
To Ngoc Ngoi, General Director of the Vinafor Saigon Company,said the country gained growth in the export of timber and wooden products inthe first eight months and this positive situation is forecasted to continueuntil year end. Therefore, the domestic wood industry expects to reach itsexport target of 12 billion USD this year.
The pandemic continues to poseproblems, but at present, some countries have ended social distancingmeasures. Therefore, from mid-July, the company has received many new orders,he said. The domestic supply of raw materials has met demandfor those new orders instead of material imported from countries that arestill implementing social distancing.
To achieve the export target of 12billion USD, Vietnam's woodindustry must undergo many changes, including the Handicraft and WoodIndustry Association of HCM City (HAWA)’s initiative of developing an onlinetrading platform to connect local wood and furniture businesses with foreignpartners.
In the last two quarters of thisyear, Vietnam's timber and wooden product exports are expected to recordgrowth thanks to the renovation efforts of businesses, support from theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development and signs of recovery in somemajor markets.
To increase the export value ofwooden products, the Vietnam Administration of Forestry said that localcompanies need to focus on maintaining growth in five high export markets,including the US, Japan, China, the EU, and the Republic of Korea. At the same time, they shouldexpand market shares in a number of potential markets through efficient tradepromotion programmes.
They should promote use ofadvanced and environmentally friendly technologies and automatic equipmentsystems in processing wooden products to improve quality and save rawmaterials. They also need to comply with regulations on product origin.
According to the General Departmentof Forestry, Vietnam still has many opportunities to expand export markets andincrease export value for timber and wooden products. The world's furniture andwooden product market is large with a value of about 430 billion USD, including 150 billion USD from furniture products. Meanwhile, Vietnam’sfurniture products at present only account for about 6 percent of the globalmarket share.
Besides traditional markets withhigh export value such as the United States, Japan, China, EU, and theRepublic of Korea, some otherpotential markets also bring more opportunities for Vietnam to promotefurniture exports, like Canada, Russia and India.
The Voluntary PartnershipAgreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (VPA/FLEGT) between Vietnamand the EU effective from June 1, 2019 helps local businesses to improvecompetitiveness for wooden products exported to the EU, according to thegeneral department.
The US market's demand for woodproducts from other countries, including Vietnam, is likely to increase becausehigh import tax imposed on Chinese products has reduced furniture importedfrom this market.
In addition, Vietnam has ratifiedfree trade agreements with many partners such as the EU, Japan, Chile and theRepublic of Korea and it isimplementing those FTAs so Vietnam’s many goods enjoy reductions or eliminationin import duties. That would create a competitive advantage for export goods ofVietnam to those markets.
In addition, the Government,ministries, sectors and localities are implementing many solutions tocontinuously improve the investment and business environment for businessesprocessing export wooden products, including reduction of administrativeprocedures./.
VNA
