On the afternoon of March 9, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development coordinated with the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association and the People's Committee of Binh Dinh province to organize a conference "Committee on processing and exporting wood and forest products in the first quarter of 3". ”. The event is part of the series of activities of the International Outdoor Fashion Fair in Quy Nhon 2024 (Q-Fair 2024).
Although exports have shown signs of recovery, there are still many bottlenecks
According to data from the Department of Forestry (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), in the first 2 months of 2024, the export value of wood and forest products is estimated to reach 2,68 billion USD, an increase of 47,4% over the same period last year. 2023; The import value of wood and wood products is estimated at 355 million USD, up 31% over the same period in 2023. Trade surplus in the first 2 months of the year is estimated at 2,465 billion USD.
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| The wood industry meets to discuss solving difficulties and promoting exports in 2024 |
Besides the achieved results, the wood industry is currently facing many difficulties and challenges. Mr. Trieu Van Luc, Deputy Director of the Forestry Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - information, impacts from the conflict between Russia - Ukraine and Israel - Hamas, instability in the Red Sea is still developing complex, unpredictable. In addition, the world inflation situation shows signs of slowing down, consumers continue to tighten spending on non-essential products, including furniture and wood products. The risk of commercial fraud and fake origin of goods is increasing; Trade competition continues to be complicated.
Some of Vietnam's main markets for exporting wood and wood products increasingly require strict implementation of control over wood origins to ensure legality, without affecting degradation, deforestation, and green production in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A representative of the wood industry business community shared about the difficulties and obstacles in importing raw wood, processing and exporting wood and wood products, Mr. Do Xuan Lap - Chairman of Vietnam Wood and Forest Products Association said that in the US market, regulations on the origin of raw wood are increasingly stricter; The US Department of Commerce is amending and supplementing a total of 22 contents related to a number of regulations in anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations, including ways to identify some new subsidies such as export insurance. , debt cancellation, direct taxes...; The impact of greenhouse gases is intended to supplement trade policy in a bill by lawmakers asking President Biden's administration to conduct research on emissions intensity for the production of certain goods. inside and outside the United States.
For the EU market, the EU Anti-Deforestation Regulation (also known as EUDR) of the European Union, December 12, comes into effect. Vietnam's regulations on determining the origin of wood are not currently specific. The Indian market applies new factory evaluation standards, BIS standards, in early 2024. Causing difficulties for Vietnamese businesses.
In the Canadian market, the low exchange rate compared to the USD makes it difficult for Vietnamese goods to compete and the tariff advantage that CPTPP brings to Vietnamese exports will gradually disappear. Meanwhile, the Japanese market increasingly requires Vietnamese wood and wood products exported to this market to use wood sources of clear origin.
To obtain the highest value, multi-value integration is necessary
The export market picture is not only gray, according to Mr. Do Xuan Lap, currently some main markets are showing signs of recovery, with a positive impact on the wood industry. Specifically, the US market is showing signs of recovery with indicators forecasting real GDP to increase by 2,2% in 2024. "Survey at some wood and furniture fairs in early 2024 in the United States shows that many customers have come to visit and learn", Mr. Do Xuan Lap informed.
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| Vietnam has a lot of room to export wood and wood products |
As for the Korean market, it has a forecast growth rate of 1,4% in 2024. Many Korean businesses are actively participating in Furniture Fairs in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam...). ) to find partners and manufacturers. Maybe this is a sign of recovery in exports to this market.
In the EU market, according to Statista's assessment, by 2024 the furniture market in Europe will have a revenue of about 236,8 billion USD, with a compound growth rate of 3,28% (CAGR 2024-2028). The living room furniture segment is estimated to reach 62,73 billion USD by 2024, dominating this market.
In 2024, the wood industry aims to strive for the export value of wood and forest products to reach 15,2 billion USD, of which wood and wood products are over 14,2 billion USD, an increase of about 6% compared to 2023. To To achieve the set goals, the wood industry still has a lot of work to do.
He Nguyen Tuan Thanh - Vice Chairman of Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee said that currently, the production costs of wood industry enterprises are still quite high; Besides, there are risks in forest certification as well as wood traceability. Therefore, there needs to be a solution to develop raw material areas.
On the business side, it is necessary to focus on improving quality, investing in machinery and equipment, and meeting sustainability requirements. Only then will goods be welcomed by customers when exported to the market.
Acknowledge the opinions of authorities, associations, and businesses, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Quoc Tri further analyzed that the wood industry currently faces many difficulties and challenges from logistics issues. Besides, trade competition is fierce. On the other hand, currently many importing countries want to protect domestic production and introduce strict regulations.
“Yesterday I had a conversation with the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association and shared information that there were containers that used to cost just over 1.000 USD to transport but have now increased to more than 6.800, even high. These are difficult. And if it is a matter of input materials, we need to discuss developing domestic supply. If it is an external output problem, there needs to be an appropriate and specific solution.", Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Tri shared.
To solve the above difficulties and problems, Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Tri requested that wood industry associations and businesses agree on the view that to improve product value, the value of wood must be fully integrated. that product.
Currently, wood processing enterprises do not have to measure carbon emissions, but it is likely that in the near future, businesses will also have to do so. How to reduce emissions the most and bring the highest value? For this, right now, businesses need to proactively link with forest growers, to proactively have raw materials and integrate multi-value. At the same time, businesses need to promptly provide information about regulations and share skills to avoid risks.
“It is recommended that processing enterprises promote links with forest growers and forest owners to develop large timber forests. This not only benefits forest growers, but businesses can also proactively source raw materials that are legal, certified, and originating." Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Tri emphasized and acknowledged that for sales, among thousands of businesses, there are very few direct export businesses in your country but mainly export through intermediaries, so the value obtained is not yet clear. High. Therefore, associations and businesses need to sit together to discuss this story.
The Deputy Minister also requested relevant departments and agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance to jointly solve the problem of market issues and trade defense issues...
At the same time, it is recommended that units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development such as: Forest Protection Department, Forestry Department; The International Cooperation Department presides and coordinates with the EU to amend the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between Vietnam and the EU on forest law enforcement, forest governance and forest product trade (VPA/FLEGT Agreement) so that suitable for current conditions.
In addition, it is recommended to soon develop a negotiation plan with the UK on a Voluntary Partnership Agreement to better bring products to this market; develop a plan to implement the EU's Deforestation Regulation (EUDR); building a Vietnamese wood brand; Implementing the project of granting forest certification, planting large timber forests...
