Solving the problem of increasing the value of Vietnamese wood products

Wood exports flourish in the first two months of the year

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Nguyen Quoc Tri, in 2024, although still facing many difficulties and challenges, the prospects of the wood and wood products processing and export industry have shown positive signs.

“In the first two months of the year, the industry's export value reached over 2.3 billion USD,” said Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Tri.

Speaking with Lao Dong, Ms. Cao Thi Cam - Member of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association (Viforest) - also highly appreciated the results achieved in wood exports in the first 2 months of 2024, especially the strengths of the 5 "Top" wood export products: Wooden furniture, chairs, wood chips, plywood, pellets. These are products that inherit many advantages of 2023.

Chairs ranked first in the top 5 largest wood export products in 2023. Photo: Vu Long

“In 2023, despite many difficulties, many wood export products achieved good results, including: Wooden furniture, chairs, wood chips, plywood, and pellets are 5 of the products with large export turnover in 2023, reaching 11.91 billion USD, accounting for 90.4% of the total export turnover of the industry,” Ms. Cao Thi Cam informed.

Mr. Vu Tuan Anh - Chairman of GLE Company - also commented: "Wood exports will flourish in 2024. The US, China, South Korea and the EU are still potential and stable markets for Vietnam's wooden furniture exports".

Many difficulties and challenges in 2024

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang predicted: In 2024, the global trade outlook is not expected to be very bright, continuing to have an unfavorable impact on the export activities of many industries, including wood and forestry products.

According to Viforest, the macroeconomic context in 2024 will not have many fluctuations compared to 2023. Governments of countries in major markets continue to implement tight monetary policies, especially in managing industry interest rates. Production and business activities in these markets will continue to witness stagnation in the coming time.

"There have been signs of an economic recession in some important wood furniture export markets such as the UK, Germany and Japan. The sharp increase in corporate bankruptcies in major economies compared to 2022 will continue to affect the production and business situation in these countries in 2024.

In addition, the geopolitical conflicts between Russia - Ukraine, Israel - Hamas and the issue in the Red Sea are directly disrupting the supply chain, escalating transportation and delivery costs. Major export markets are strengthening the enforcement of import regulations as an important technical barrier for many groups of goods from exporting countries including Vietnam, related to the circular economy, sustainable development and green and clean development... are not small challenges for businesses", Mr. Tran Le Huy - Binh Dinh Wood and Forest Products Association (FPA Binh Dinh) - commented.

To develop stably, Vietnamese enterprises need to open new paths, dare to confront, and untie the above "bottlenecks".

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Khanh - Chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Processing Association of Ho Chi Minh City - stated: The largest international fair on wood and furniture in Vietnam - Hawa Expo taking place in Ho Chi Minh City is an innovation, demonstrating the efforts of Vietnamese enterprises in the new trend, contributing to the transformation of the entire industry from manufacturing (OEM) to developing products with unique designs (ODM) to increase the value of Vietnamese wood products.

"Compromising with the title of international processing factory is a mindset that needs to be eliminated," Mr. Khanh affirmed.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Tri also said that to achieve the export target in 2024, it is necessary to have fundamental solutions in technology innovation, raw material supply and especially the market.

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