Vietnam’s wood export expands nearly 16% in 9 months

At a wood processing factory

According to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, the products ran a trade surplus of US$5.08 billion in the period, with the surplus for wood and wood products US$4.74 billion.

The US is the biggest importer of Vietnam’s timber goods, with import turnover of US$2.7 billion in the first nine months of this year, up 15.8% compared to the same period of 2017.

It was followed by Japan with US$827 million (up 8.1%) and China with US$812.6 million (up 3.8%).

The Republic of Korea, Australia, Canada and France were also large importers of Vietnamese timber and wood products, with respective import value of US$699.2 million, US$137 million, US$115 million and US$90 million.

Vietnam aims to earn US$9 billion from exporting forestry products in 2018.

The export turnover of wood and timber products is expected to increase in the rest months of this year in line with consumption habits.

In addition, Vietnam and the European Union (EU) are completing procedures to approve the signing of the voluntary partnership agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade.

By mid-July 2018, the European Commission approved the content of the agreement and agreed to submit it to the EU Council of Ministers for signing.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has submitted the document to the Government for approval.

Nguyen Ton Quyen, General Secretary of the Association of Vietnam Timber and Forest Product, said the Vietnamese forestry sector is also facing many difficulties, including a shortage of raw materials for production and fierce competition with Chinese firms.