Vietnam's wood industry is expecting to reach this year's export target of 5.5 billion USD, thanks to a recovery in exports of its wood products, experts have said.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the wood industry gained a year-on-year increase of 12.5 percent, bringing the export value of this industry to 2.46 billion USD for the first half of this year.

Traditional markets such as the US , Japan and China also had a strong surge in export values.

Dang Quoc Hung, deputy chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA), said that exports of Vietnamese wood products to the US increased over the first half of this year, which signals a recovery.

The industry expected that the export of wood products will continue to increase in the second half of this year, Hung said. The export value of wood products to the US is estimated to reach 1.7 billion USD for the year.

In the second half of this year, Chinese demand for wood exports will surge due to competitive pricing, he said. China will import 800 million USD of woodchips from Vietnam this year.

The ministry said that the export value for wood products is expected to increase by 10-15 percent, which will reach its export target of 5.5 billion USD for the year.

However, Hung said, almost all of the wood processing businesses have faced higher import prices for their materials, yet they could not increase their selling price, so they must have huge losses or might be even forced to stop production.

On the other hand, large businesses have managed to keep up production because they have modern equipment which reduces labour costs.

Companies have said that the Government should support them with low interest rate loans so that they can upgrade their equipment and technology and overcome production difficulties. The Government should also not increase land rent to allow businesses to focus on their capital and to make investments in equipment and technology.-VNA