Pham Hong Luong, Head of the Planning-Finance under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Vietnam Administration of Forestry, said Vietnam holds huge potential for wood processing and production.

Currently, there are nearly 4,000 timber processing firms, with 1,500 wood export companies. They stand ready to boost the sector’s growth if there are abundant materials, sound mechanisms and robust market signs.

Meanwhile, they do not have to face fierce competition as other foreign exporters are facing anti-dumping petitions. 

The freshly-issued forestry law together with the EU-Vietnam Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (VPA-FLEGT) will set up legal corridors and mechanisms to encourage market expansion for the forestry sector.

Regarding domestic consumption market, Vietnam’s wood consumption is calculated at some 30 USD per person per year, which is much lower than the world’s figure of 72 USD. Domestic wood demand is expected to increased, spurred by rapid urbanisation speed and the bounce-back of the real estate market.

With these favourable conditions, Vietnam’s exports of forestry products are expected to bring home some 9 billion USD this year.

Vietnam is a leading wood exporter in ASEAN. It ranks 2nd in Asia and 5th in the world in terms of export revenue from forestry products.

Last year, forestry exports hit a record growth of 10 percent in recent five years to reach more than 8 billion USD, which surpasses the target of 7.8 billion USD set for 2020.-VNA