Efforts to achieve wood export turnover of 18 billion USD

Recently, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued Directive 18/CT-TTg in 2025 on implementing tasks and solutions to promote domestic and foreign trade to boost trade activities in 2025. In the Directive, the Prime Minister directed ministries, agencies and localities to continue implementing tasks and solutions to promote domestic and foreign trade to boost trade activities in 2025.

The Prime Minister requested ministries, sectors and localities to step up trade promotion activities to serve exports, increase the market share of Vietnamese goods in traditional markets and markets with free trade agreements with Vietnam; effectively implement and diversify large-scale, in-depth trade promotion programs for each industry in key markets such as the EU, the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, India, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

Export results in the first 6 months of the year, the export picture recorded many bright colors when the turnover reached 180.23 billion USD, up 14% over the same period in 2024. However, in the second half of this year, businesses and experts assess that exports will be more difficult because July 9 is the deadline for the US's reciprocal tax deferral; political instability in many regions around the world affects transportation costs. Therefore, Directive 18 of the Prime Minister is considered very timely in supporting export enterprises, especially those mainly trading in traditional markets.

For example, one of our main export industries is wood and furniture. This year, the wood industry has set an export target of 18 billion USD. Wood enterprises have proactively sought new markets and diversified distribution channels to ensure export targets.

According to statistics from the Customs Department, the export value of wood and wood products in Vietnam in the first 5 months of 2025 reached nearly 6.81 billion USD, an increase of 10.3% over the same period in 2024. Despite achieving positive results, the wood industry still faces many challenges. In particular, controlling the legal origin of wood is the first requirement of wood exporting enterprises.

Using 100% of raw materials from planted forests, specifically rubber wood, to ensure transparency and safety for the product, meeting market requirements. With the goal of developing designs from local materials to original designs to increase the value of rubber trees to bring Vietnamese wood products deeper into the international market - that is the goal of the enterprise.

In addition to finding new export markets, businesses have had a new direction: linking with FDI enterprises to participate in supplying raw materials - opening up opportunities to break through the market, meeting the year's production plan.

"In 2024, both export and domestic sales will be about 100 million USD, and in 2025, the business is expected to grow by 20%. The company is producing both OEM and ODM, which is a step I believe will be more sustainable," said Mr. Hoang Duc Tuan - Founder of Tekom Company.

In addition, businesses are also struggling to find solutions to reduce raw material and labor costs in the context of high tariffs and increased shipping costs due to the impact of world oil prices.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Thong - General Director of Hoang Thong Wood Company said: "The first scenario is to tighten salaries and control costs. We have been doing this for many years. But clearly at this time we can link up with FDI enterprises."

"We must be the factory with the lowest production cost in the industry, including in Vietnam and other competitors in countries like China, Malaysia or Thailand. We are working hard every day to do that. At this time, in addition to OEM for FDI factories and directly making furniture products for export, we are also moving to the next step of establishing a company in the US to design and sell products ourselves," said Mr. Nguyen Chanh Phuong - Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Handicraft and Wood Processing Association.

Along with that, businesses said they are also taking advantage of Vietnam's national booth on e-commerce to expand to new markets such as the Middle East and Latin America, taking advantage of the platform to both promote their brands and save a lot of costs when exporting online.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/no-luc-dat-kim-ngach-xuat-khau-go-18-ty-usd-3363938.html