Vietnam's woodwork export surges in 8 months

Vietnam shipped abroad, mainly to the European Union, the United States and Japan, wood-based products totaling over 1.2 billion U.S. dollars in the first eight months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 24.4 percent, a local industry association said on Tuesday.

Woodwork producers in Vietnam are seeking more material suppliers, tapping traditional export markets, and penetrating into new ones, the Vietnam Wood and Forest Products Processing Association said, predicting their total export turnovers will be 2 billion dollars in 2006, 4 billion dollars in 2010 and 8 billion dollars in 2020.

Some 1,200 woodwork enterprises in the country, including more than 300 exporters, are able to process 2.5-3 million cubic meters of wood annually, but domestic supplies can only meet nearly 20 percent of the demand, the association said.

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 interior wooden products, outdoor tables and chairs, handicraft woodwork, items made from wood and such other materials as rattan and iron, and plywood, to potential markets including Canada, Russia and East Europe.

To facilitate woodwork production and export, relevant companies in Vietnam should establish material wholesale markets in the northern, central and southern regions, and join hands with one another in specializing in a specific phase of the process of turning out a certain finished product, the association said.

The state should encourage woodwork producers to engage in afforestation directly or indirectly via cooperation with farmers, facilitate the local wood processing industry, and call for all economic sectors and residents to invest in the industry, it added.

Vietnam earned woodwork export turnovers of nearly 1.6 billion dollars in 2005, up from 1.1 billion dollars in 2004 and 560 million dollars in 2003. Its wood-based products are now available in more than 120 countries and regions, the association said.

Source: Xinhua