| Opportunities for trade promotion in the wood and forestry industry Trade promotion: A springboard to boost wood exports |
Mr. Ngo Sy Hoai - Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association shared with reporters of the Industry and Trade Newspaper about solutions to promote trade in the wood industry.
 |
| Mr. Ngo Sy Hoai - Vice President and General Secretary of Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association |
In the first two quarters of this year, the export value of wood and wood products decreased by double digits. Could you please share some notable points in the export picture of the industry in recent times?
The wood industry has grown very strongly and made a breakthrough in recent years. We have also become one of the world's major wood processing export centers. However, in the first half of 2023, wood product exports decreased quite sharply. If the overall export turnover decreased by about 12%, wood exports decreased by nearly 30%. We have set a target of exporting 20 billion USD of wood and wood products by 2025, but at this point we have to recalculate the target.
The reason for the decline in wood and wood products exports is that the US market - the main market of the wood industry - has decreased by 35% in turnover due to poor purchasing power and reduced orders. In addition, the wood industry has faced anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations since 2020 and to date, after 7 delays, the US Department of Commerce has not yet made a final decision.
However, I believe that the current difficulties are only temporary. In general, the global wood market demand increases by 7-8% each year, which means that we still have a lot of room and opportunities for development in the future and the current difficulties are only temporary, due to the general difficulties of the market.
In the context of such export difficulties, what solutions have associations and businesses proposed to limit the decline and maintain growth targets, sir? Especially trade promotion solutions?
In recent times, we have signed many FTAs. Among them is the VPA/FLEGT Agreement, also known as the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Vietnam on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade. We also signed a bilateral agreement with the United States to address the complete elimination of illegally harvested timber from the supply chain. We are also preparing to effectively implement recent EU regulations such as on May 14, the EU passed the regulation on zero deforestation and zero forest degradation, which we are determined to implement.
At the national level, in general, the solutions mainly focus on improving the business environment and enhancing the competitiveness of enterprises. However, I think that more solutions are needed for Vietnamese wood to have a brand in the world. We have had many meetings with Vietnamese representative agencies abroad and conveyed a very clear message that the Vietnamese Government, businesses and people have done a lot to promote green growth, green development, contributing to the formation of a responsible wood industry, contributing to reducing deforestation globally.
 |
| Trade promotion activities play an important role in promoting wood exports. |
For trade promotion, we have recently established a fair organization company of 5 Vietnamese associations such as Vietnam Timber Association and local Timber Associations such as Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Binh Dinh. This is a company specializing in organizing domestic and international fairs to enhance trade promotion for wood products.
On the business side, currently, when there are no orders, many businesses have to cut costs, reduce workers, reduce working hours, maintain a certain level of production to wait for the time to recover production. Currently, businesses need to look back to restructure after many years of rapid development and growth. Businesses need to understand that in the past, we have developed rapidly in breadth, relying heavily on cheap labor. In the near future, we no longer have that advantage but need to increase the application of machinery, using the advantages brought by the 4.0 revolution to increase the competitiveness of businesses.
Or now we mainly process and export through large traders without having brands. So businesses must make efforts to build brands because this is a long-term path.
It is known that currently, wood export orders has started to recover, this is positive news for the wood industry. However, difficulties still exist when inflation in many major economies such as the United States and Europe is still high, personal spending is tight, the sluggish real estate market will continue to affect global consumption of wood and wood products in 2023. What recommendations does the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association have to make wood exports more favorable in the coming time, especially in trade promotion?
We have become one of the world's leading wood exporting countries. Wood and wood products are present in 140 different markets. Trade promotion activities have contributed very positively to that achievement. However, the trade promotion solutions we have implemented so far are not large enough, strong enough and effective. Therefore, we think that trade promotion should be implemented at the national level, the association level and specific enterprises.
At the national level, trade promotion solutions need to be implemented to increase the brand, reputation, and trust of customers in Vietnamese wood products, especially in the context that international partners often scrutinize the input materials of the industry very carefully. National trade promotion activities must by all means send the message that Vietnamese wood enterprises are persistently pursuing green trade and green industry.
Regarding trade promotion activities at the association level, we have been doing it for a long time but it is not large enough. We also have specific plans and will actively organize fairs nationwide and regionally, not just limited to Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City. Because the wood industry is developing in the North and there is a shift from the Southeast to the North Central provinces. The Northern provinces are where there is abundant forest plantation materials and relatively cheap labor. Therefore, trade promotion activities at the association level will also be carried out in Hanoi and the North so that many people interested in the wood industry can access information.
In addition, we are also interested in 340 wood craft villages in Vietnam. To a certain extent, they can also participate in the domestic and global wood supply chain. In the coming time, we will increase training and coaching for this group to create connections between leading enterprises, households, and micro-enterprises.
For businesses, investment is needed. In difficult times, there may be many small markets but we still need to do it. And the eternal lesson is not to "put all your eggs in one basket". Businesses must have a trade promotion department and need to prioritize money and human resources for trade promotion in the future.
Thank you!
Source link
Comment (0)