Vietnam is estimated to ship abroad woodwork worth 656 million U.S. dollars in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 31.9 percent, according to the country's Wood and Forest Products Processing Association on Thursday.

In addition to such key markets as the European Union, the United States, Japan and China's Taiwan, woodwork companies in Vietnam are intensifying exportation of their products, including tables, chairs, beds and wardrobes, to potential ones like Canada, Russia and East Europe.

The companies are actively seeking more material suppliers. Some of the companies have turned to import log and timber from Canada in addition to such traditional markets as the Philippines, New Zealand and several African countries, as Indonesia and Malaysia, two wood biggest exporters in Southeast Asia, have stopped exporting the two kinds of wood materials, the association said.

Some 1,200 woodwork enterprises in Vietnam are able to annually process 2.5-3 million cubic meters of wood, but domestic supplies can meet nearly 20 percent of the demand.

Vietnam, which earned woodwork export turnovers of nearly 1.6 billion dollars in 2005, up from 1.1 billion dollars in 2004, is expected to reap 2 billion dollars from exporting the product in 2006.

Its wood-based products are now available in 120 countries and regions, the association said.

Source: Xinhua