Hanoi (VNA) – A conference seeking solutions to boost rapidand sustainable growth of the wood and forestry processing and exportindustries will be held in Ho Chi Minh City on August 8.

Over the past years, the wood processing and export industries haveexpanded significantly, making Vietnam the fifth largest wood exporter in theworld, the second in Asia and the biggest in Southeast Asia.

In the 2013-2017 period, wood exports grew 10.6 percent per year withaverage revenue of 6.6 billion USD per year, becoming a major product inagro-forestry-fisheries group. Exports of wooden products and processed woodexpanded 11 percent per year with average revenue of 4.7 billion USD per year.

According to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry under the Ministryof Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first seven months of 2018, forestryproducts’ export value increased 14 percent year on year to 5.025 billion USD,56 percent of the yearly target and 22.6 percent of total export revenue of theagricultural sector.

Trade surplus of wood and wooden products in the period hit 3.52 billionUSD. Wood imports in the first seven months hit 1.24 billion USD, up 0.4percent year on year.

At the same time, export markets of Vietnamese forestry products have changedsignificantly. Instead of shipping the products to Asian countries such asChina’s Taiwan, Singapore and the Republic of Korea for export on to a thirdcountry, Vietnam now directly exports products to 120 countries andterritories. The US, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea combined consumed78.5 percent of products.

Growth was also seen in the Malaysian, French and Australian markets.

Recently, Vietnam has exported machinery for wood processing rather thanimporting it as three years ago. At the same time, the wood and woodenfurniture sector of Vietnam has improved in terms of quality and quantity.

Experts forecast that the domestic wood market will continue to rise forthe rest of the year due to consumers’ habit, while orders are often finished atthe end of the year, bringing bright prospects for the industry for the wholeyear.

The US’s application of high taxes on Chinese wooden products is also anopportunity for Vietnamese firms.

In the upcoming conference, representative of more than 500 woodprocessing enterprises, State agencies as well as domestic and internationalorganisations will work together to find solutions to problems and plan for thedevelopment of the sector.

At the event, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will put forth measuresto boost wood processing and export sector, with a focus on expanding marketsand increasing trade promotion to take advantage of free trade agreements. Theministry will suggest solutions to ensure materials for the industry.

Particularly, amidst stricter regulations of importing countries on thelegacy of wood origin, the ministry will continue tightening the managementover imported wood, ensuring the implementation of Vietnam’s internationalcommitments.

Measures to foster links between businesses and forest planters in majormaterial regions for more stable material supply will also be discussed.

Meanwhile, the ministry will give recommendations to enterprises on activitiesto cooperate with each other to form production chains, strengthen theapplication of advanced technology to reduce cost, optimise advantages fromfree trade agreements with major markets and seek new promising ones.-VNA