Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Vietnam’s wood export is likelyto hit about 14.5 billion USD this year, lower than the yearly target of 17billion USD, ViceChairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Associationof Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA) Nguyen Chanh Phuong told a local press conference onSeptember 13.
Between now and the year’s end, the figurecould reach roughly 6 billion USD.
Since early this year, the export of wood andwooden furniture has been dull, with a shortage of orders common in mostbusinesses. In the past eight months, the export turnover neared 8.3 billionUSD, down around 26% annually, Phuong said.
Since May this year, the Vietnamese firms have beenimporting a significant amount of raw wood materials which rise by 5-10% permonth. This is a sign that they are actively preparing for end-of-year orders,he added.
Citing data from the International TradeCentre (ITC), Phuong revealed that the Vietnamese wood enterprises are alsoimporting a substantial amount of machinery and equipment, totaling approximately240 million USD, mostly from China, Europe, the Republic of Korea and Japan,among others.
According to him, the 2023 VietnamInternational Woodworking Industry Fair (VietnamWood 2023) and the Vietnam International Furniture Accessories, Hardware &Tools Exhibition (Furnitec 2023) will be concurrently held in Ho ChiMinh City from September 20-23.
Organisedby the Vietnam National Trade Fair & Advertising Company, Yorkers Trade& Marketing Service Co and HAWA, the events will also feature livestreamsessions to introduce new technologies and a series of wood technology seminarswith topics such as proactive production - simplified operations, greenfactories with a focus on carbon neutrality, equipment health and smartmaintenance, among others./.
