Vietnam wood products exports expected to rise in 2017

Vietnam''s wood and wood products exports are forecast to reach $8
billion in 2017, up from $7.3 billion last year.

The global furniture demand will keep on increasing, so the domestic
industry can look forward to doing better, Huynh Van Hanh, deputy
chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi
Minh City (Hawa) said.

As reported by The Nation, the global furniture consumption is worth
more than $460 billion a year. The supply from Vietnam accounts for
just 1.65% of this figure, which means there is considerable room for
Vietnamese firms to increase their market share.

China is the largest supplier of wooden products in the world and
makes up for 37% of the total consumption. Yet, the Chinese
government cut the overall timber harvesting quotas by 9% (40 million
m3 of timber) and led to opportunities for the Vietnamese businesses
to boost their exports.

Nguyen Chien Thang, former Hawa chairman and director of Scansia
Pacific, said all Hawa members enjoyed good growth last year, with
more and more foreign buyers coming to place orders. They have
invested significantly in technologies to improve product quality and
management, and this has increasingly gained customers’ trust, he
said.

“Previously, large customers, especially those from the US, had
mainly bought products from Taiwanese companies investing in Vietnam,
but now more and more US customers are contacting Vietnamese
producers,” Thang added. “This is a good sign.”

As The Nation reported, many firms in Binh Duong and Dong Nai,
anticipating a good year for exports, invested in new facilities last
year to expand production scale.

Cao Duy Tam, director of ViDai, which specialises in supplying
machinery, equipment and solutions for the wood-processing industry,
said sales increased by 50% last year and are expected to be higher
this year.

Several businesses have invested in new technologies as to improve
their productivity and quality, while also solving the problem of
labour shortage and getting ready to receive larger export orders.
They have thus invested in automatic, high-speed machines and even
computer numeric control machines.

As Hanh explained, the Vietnamese businesses have accumulated
valuable experience in production, management and market access
during the past year and the industry also needs to access markets at
a national scale so that foreign customers know that Vietnam is
producing wooden products from legal timber sources.