Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc considers the wood export target of US$11 billion in 2019 underachieves, and targets a 30 – 50% of global market share for wood exports by 2030, the governmental portal reported.
Overview of the meeting. Source: VGP.
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The number in subject accounted for 23% of Vietnam’s agricultural exports and resulted in a trade surplus of US$7.1 billion for the country’s wood industry.
More importantly, most of Vietnam’s woodwork was made from wood logged by local plantations, while restricting material imports and prohibiting illegal timber help limit deforestation, Phuc added.
However, at present, Vietnam’s exports account for just 6% of global timber and wooden furniture market, which is estimated at US$430 billion, indicating a lack of diversification in wood products and the presence of leading enterprises in this field.
Moving forward, Phuc requested authorities to increase the country’s national forest coverage to reach 42% or even higher, aiming for sustainable development of wood exports.
In the next ten years, Vietnam needs to join the 15 most advanced countries in agriculture and become a global hub for wood export and processing, Phuc continued.
In January, Vietnam has reached a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) with the EU on forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT). The deal would improve timber’s trade value from Vietnam to EU, but also promote legal logging in the country, according to Viet Dragon Securities Company (VDSC).
Europe is the fourth biggest importer of Vietnamese timber products. Export value of this item to EU has remained stable over the last three year, with an annually average value of over US$700 million. After signing the VPA/FLEGT, timber export value from Vietnam to the EU is predicted to hit US$800 million in 2019, stated VDSC.
