For the wood industry to develop sustainably, in addition to meeting regulations on origin, businesses need to invest in technology and expand exports to new markets.
The United States continues to be the top market for Vietnamese wood.
According to statistics from the General Department of Customs (Ministry of Finance), the export value of wood and wood products in February 2025 reached 1.03 billion USD, down 27.7% compared to January 2025, but up 33.9% compared to February 2024; of which, the export value of wood products reached 665.7 million USD, down 32.2% compared to January 2025, but up 38.9% compared to February 2024.
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| In the first two months of 2025, the export value of wood and wood products reached 2.45 billion USD, an increase of 9.4% over the same period in 2024. Photo: Illustration |
In the first two months of 2025, the export value of wood and wood products reached 2.45 billion USD, an increase of 9.4% over the same period in 2024; of which, the export value of wood products reached 1.65 billion USD, an increase of 9.1% over the same period in 2024.
Exports of wood and wood products in the first two months of 2025 were favorable, with export values to major markets recording positive growth. The US market led the way in terms of export value of wood and wood products, reaching 1.3 billion USD, up 9.5% over the same period in 2024.
The United States is the largest market for wood and wood products in Vietnam, with a value accounting for 53.1% of the total export value. Next are exports to the Japanese market reaching 323.4 million USD, up 21%, accounting for 13.2%; China reaching 259.9 million USD, down 15.2%, accounting for 10.6%; South Korea reaching 119.5 million USD, up 6.3%, accounting for 4.9%...
Although the export value of wood and wood products achieved good results in the first two months of 2025, in the coming time, this industry will still face many difficulties, as major export markets increasingly require strict control of the origin of wood.
Speaking to reporters of the Industry and Trade Newspaper, Mr. Tran Le Huy - Vice President of the Binh Dinh Timber and Forest Products Association (FPA Binh Dinh) - said that in 2025, in the context of many changes in the macro economy, deepening the challenges and difficulties from 2024 such as the Russia - Ukraine conflict has not ended, fluctuations in the supply chain with sea freight rates remaining high, changes in trade policies of many countries have greatly impacted investment and development activities, production and business as well as export turnover of the Vietnamese wood industry.
Specifically, for the US market, tax policies and trade defense policies have many unpredictable changes, while the export value of the Vietnamese wood industry to the US market accounts for nearly 60% of the total export turnover. Therefore, any change in policy in this market will greatly affect the investment, development, production, business activities as well as the export turnover of the Vietnamese wood industry.
Meanwhile, for the EU market, the EU Deforestation-Free Product Regulation (EUDR) will be officially applied on December 31, 2025, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) related to greenhouse gas emission reduction, eco-design, etc., will also have a significant impact on the wood processing and export industry.
For the Japanese market, changes in the feed-in tariff (FIT) policy and regulations on the use of wood materials of clear origin will impact Vietnam's wood pellet export industry.
Meanwhile, in South Korea, the main import market for plywood, pellets, and particleboard from Vietnam, the country's economy has not yet recovered. The Bank of Korea has revised down the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in 2025 from 1.9% to 1.5%, the deepest downward adjustment since 2022.
China - the market that imports over 70% of Vietnam's wood chips, wooden products are being affected by EUDR (EU) as well as the policy of increasing import taxes to the United States.
Meanwhile, according to businesses in the industry, the price of imported raw wood is currently increasing due to limited supply. In addition, the Vietnamese wood industry is facing fierce competition from other major suppliers, including China, Malaysia, and Indonesia, which are also major wood exporters with advantages in technology and costs.
Towards sustainable development
With its natural, environmentally friendly characteristics, the wood industry has significant potential to contribute to the country’s decarbonization and sustainable development goals. The trend of urban and industrial development drives increasing market demand in both quantity and quality for interior wood and engineered wood products.
From the perspective of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Mr. Vu Ba Phu - Director of the Trade Promotion Department - said that to support the Vietnamese wood industry to keep up with this trend, the Trade Promotion Department said that it will develop an Export Promotion Strategy with the goal of exporting wooden furniture and forest products to reach 25 billion USD by 2030, the Vietnamese wood industry will develop sustainably based on proactively sourcing raw materials, using certified wood and products that reduce emissions.
In addition, improving compliance and certification capacity for wood enterprises contributes to enhancing competitive advantages in the market and expanding export opportunities. Compliance with standards also helps minimize legal and commercial risks for enterprises. At the same time, it enhances trade promotion and branding for Vietnamese wood products.
Mr. Do Duc Duy - Minister of Agriculture and Environment - acknowledged that the forestry industry in general and wood and forest product exports in particular still have a lot of room for development.
Emphasizing the "sustainable" and "multi-purpose" orientation for the forestry sector, Minister Do Duc Duy hopes that in the coming time, through changing management methods, the forestry sector will further increase content and processing technology, step out of the "safe growth" zone of 5% and soon break through, achieving double-digit growth.
Experts also said that in order for the wood industry to develop sustainably, in addition to meeting regulations and standards on origin and environment, Vietnamese enterprises need to invest in processing technology, improve product quality to maintain competitive advantages and expand exports to new markets.
| With strong growth in recent years, the export turnover of wood and wood products in 2024 reached over 16.28 billion USD, an increase of 20.9% compared to 2023, continuing to put Vietnam in the group of leading wood and furniture exporting countries in the world. In January 2025, wood and wood product exports reached 1.42 billion USD, putting wood in the group of 7 items with an export turnover of over 1 billion USD, accounting for 67.9% of the total export turnover of the country. |
Source: https://congthuong.vn/da-dang-thi-truong-mo-rong-khong-gian-cho-xuat-khau-go-378025.html
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