Nghe An (VNA) - Deputy Prime MinisterTrinh Dinh Dung has stressed the need to keep forestry production growth at5-5.5 percent each year in the 2021-2025 period and to continue to maintain suchgrowth to 2030.

Addressing a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of Vietnam’s forestry sector in Vinh city, the capital of thenorth-central province of Nghe An, on December 1, the Deputy PM noted that thedraft national forestry development strategy for the 2021-2030 period with a visionto 2050 determined that forests are a resource and a significant productionmaterial.

Export revenue from forestry products is expected toreach 18-20 billion USD in 2025 and 23-25 billion USD in 2030.

By 2025, the ratio of ethnic minority households livingin forest-covered areas and engaging in forestry production is to increase to50 percent and 80 percent by 2030, he said.

He asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development(MARD) to coordinate with relevant agencies to complete policies and mechanismsrelating to forestry, with the strict implementation of the policy on closingaccess to forests and improving forest quality, to protect the environment andreduce natural disasters and the impact of climate change.

The ministry was requested to exhibit strongerperformance in managing, protecting, and sustainably using forest land, while offeringproposals on measures to plan for the planting of 1 billion trees over the nextfive years.

Forest coverage increased 14.7 percent in the1990-2020 period, equivalent to 5.6 million ha. The country now has more than600,000 ha of large wooded forest and more than 200,000 ha of standardised productionforest.

Between 1999 and 2009, forestry production rose 2.85percent each year, which increased to 5.86 percent a year in the 2010-2020period.

Over the past 75 years, the forestry sector has beenmoving towards intensive and extensive international integration.

It earned 11.3 billion USD from exports last year. Thefigure is expected to reach 13 billion USD in 2020 making up 2.3 percent oftotal export value and more than 26 percent of total agro-forestry-fisheriesexport value. Vietnam has become the fifth-largest forestry product exporter inthe world, the second in Asia, and the largest in Southeast Asia. Vietnamesewooden furniture is now found in more than 120 countries and territoriesworldwide.

Vietnam currently has more than 5,500 wood andforestry product processing facilities.

In the 2011-2019 period, the sector paid nearly 2trillion VND in forestry environmental service fees. The forest area has beenexpanded over the years and coverage is likely to reach 42 percent in 2020.

Vietnam has completely closed off access to 10.3million ha of natural forest area, while strictly controlling changes to forestuse purpose, creating a system of more than 2.2 million ha of special-useforest and more than 4.6 million ha of protective forest.

Forestry production employs some 20 million workers.

In the future, Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment Nguyen Xuan Cuong suggested the forestry sector should review thenational forestry plan and strategy and apply measures to maintain forestcoverage at 42 percent.

The sector should improve the quality of plantedforest area by 20 percent by 2025 and 40 percent by 2030, while ensuringmaterial sources of 40 million cu.m in 2025 and 50 million cu.m in 2030, headded./.