Wood, timber product exports to hit 8 billion USD

The export of wood and timber products is forecast to bring home 8 billion USD in 2017, heard a workshop in Hanoi on October 5.

The strong growth of wood export was seen in almost traditional and key markets such as the US, Japan, the EU, China and the Republic of Korea. The value of exports to the five markets makes up nearly 90 percent of the total export turnover of Vietnamese wood and timber products, said Vice President and General Secretary of Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (VIFORES) Nguyen Ton Quyen.

However, there will be changes in policies of the Republic of Korea and Japan to tighten the management of imported wood products, he said, adding that this will directly impact on Vietnam’s exports to the markets.

Apart from domestic wood, Vietnam imports a large amount of wood material worth 1.7-1.8 billion USD annually, equivalent to about 20-30 percent of the export turnover.

In May 2017, after the six-year negotiation process, Vietnam initialled the Vietnam-EU Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT).

Quyen said the implementation of this agreement in Vietnam will ensure all wood products in the list agreed by the Vietnamese government and the EU, including domestic and imported ones, are legal.

The signing of the document is important as it could create fundamental changes for Vietnam’s wood processing sector as well as domestic and export markets, including nations supplying wood material for Vietnam and countries buying wood and timber products from Vietnam, he added.

Hanoi (VNA)