Econ
Big opportunities for Vietnam’s wood industry
Vietnam’s wood products exporters have many opportunities to enlarge markets this year as both domestic and global demands for the products are forecast to rise significantly.
According to Huynh Van Hanh, Vice Chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA), besides positive signs in the domestic market thanks to the real estate market growth, the world’s demand for interior furniture is also predicted to rise by 3.5 percent and trade for timber products will rise by 4 percent this year.
Helmut Max Merkel, editor-in-chef of Mobelmarkt (International Interior Business Magazine) and general manger of CRP Consulting Nuremberg, Germany, said the German furniture market is big.
German love to live in a cozy environment so that the per capita consumption of furniture is higher than in other countries, he said.
In the past German preferred harder seats compared to consumers in its neighboring countries, but now the seat comfort has become important and modular sofa sets are becoming popular, he said, adding besides, the use of natural materials is on the rise.
Germany’s furniture imports were worth 9.4 billion euros in January-September last year, with Poland, China, the Czech Republic and Italy being the biggest exporters and Vietnam ranking 13th.
But not many Germans have information or know about Vietnamese furniture, Merkel said.
Juliane Lemcke, technical wood expert for the Swiss Import Promotion Programme, said demand for wooden furniture in the European Union (EU) is rising slowly, with consumption steady in the larger markets like Germany, the UK, Italy, and France and increasing in Spain, Poland, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
There is an increase in the use of engineered wood products (EWP) for home construction, commercial buildings, industrial products, and furniture, especially flat pack furniture, in the EU, she said.
The EWP market in Europe is still at an early stage of development but its use is growing rapidly, especially in home construction, due to its cost competitiveness and increase in demand for environment-friendly packaging products to replace non-recyclable materials.
Talking about the European home furnishing market in 2016-2020, she said demand for multi-functional furniture is expected to increase, with living room and bedroom furniture generating the majority of sales followed by the kitchen segment.
The major trend in bedroom furniture is the use of country or rustic style, involving use of pale, pastel colors and traditional styling, she said.
She also spoke about the US trends and effects on furniture.
With the number of single-person households increasing, and thus also smaller homes and apartments, demand for modular, space-saving and multifunctional furniture and furniture for storage is high, she said.
Bjorn Henseler of Schuler Consulting GmbH said Vietnam is good at making furniture from solid wood, but the future of the market lies in customization.
So businesses should also grasp market trends to adopt suitable development strategies, delegates said.
They agreed that consumers’ shopping habits in the United States and the European Union are changing with the growth in e-commerce.
According to the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s exports of wood and wooden products have increased by 12.3 percent a year on average for the past seven years, reaching US$7.66 billion last year.
The export value of the products is expected to reach $8.5 billion this year and $10 billion by 2020.
Global demand for interior furniture is expected to rise by 3.5 percent in 2018
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German love to live in a cozy environment so that the per capita consumption of furniture is higher than in other countries, he said.
In the past German preferred harder seats compared to consumers in its neighboring countries, but now the seat comfort has become important and modular sofa sets are becoming popular, he said, adding besides, the use of natural materials is on the rise.
Germany’s furniture imports were worth 9.4 billion euros in January-September last year, with Poland, China, the Czech Republic and Italy being the biggest exporters and Vietnam ranking 13th.
But not many Germans have information or know about Vietnamese furniture, Merkel said.
Juliane Lemcke, technical wood expert for the Swiss Import Promotion Programme, said demand for wooden furniture in the European Union (EU) is rising slowly, with consumption steady in the larger markets like Germany, the UK, Italy, and France and increasing in Spain, Poland, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
There is an increase in the use of engineered wood products (EWP) for home construction, commercial buildings, industrial products, and furniture, especially flat pack furniture, in the EU, she said.
The EWP market in Europe is still at an early stage of development but its use is growing rapidly, especially in home construction, due to its cost competitiveness and increase in demand for environment-friendly packaging products to replace non-recyclable materials.
Talking about the European home furnishing market in 2016-2020, she said demand for multi-functional furniture is expected to increase, with living room and bedroom furniture generating the majority of sales followed by the kitchen segment.
The major trend in bedroom furniture is the use of country or rustic style, involving use of pale, pastel colors and traditional styling, she said.
She also spoke about the US trends and effects on furniture.
With the number of single-person households increasing, and thus also smaller homes and apartments, demand for modular, space-saving and multifunctional furniture and furniture for storage is high, she said.
Bjorn Henseler of Schuler Consulting GmbH said Vietnam is good at making furniture from solid wood, but the future of the market lies in customization.
So businesses should also grasp market trends to adopt suitable development strategies, delegates said.
They agreed that consumers’ shopping habits in the United States and the European Union are changing with the growth in e-commerce.
According to the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s exports of wood and wooden products have increased by 12.3 percent a year on average for the past seven years, reaching US$7.66 billion last year.
The export value of the products is expected to reach $8.5 billion this year and $10 billion by 2020.
