Potential raw material area
The former Gia Lai province had a natural area of over 1.5 million hectares, with forest land exceeding 650,600 hectares, accounting for 25.2% of the Central Highlands region's area and 4.3% of the country's total forest area.
Of this, natural forests account for 478.6 thousand hectares, planted forests for over 158.7 thousand hectares, and areas planted but not yet forested for over 13.2 thousand hectares. Therefore, the forestry sector plays a crucial role in the socio-economic development of the locality.
During the period 2021-2024, the western area of the province planted more than 33,100 hectares of forest; the output of timber harvested from planted forests reached more than 1 million m³ , with an average annual harvest of over 254,000 m³ .
The target for the 2020-2025 period is to plant 8,000 hectares per year, reaching 40,000 hectares. Many localities have large areas of planted forests, such as the communes of Dak Song, Kbang, Dak Po, Mang Yang, and Ia Grai…
In western communes of the province such as Dak Song and Sro, people have voluntarily declared encroached forest land to plant more than 2,000 hectares of forest. In particular, the forest planting cooperation model between Kong Chro Forestry Company Limited and the people of Dak Song and Sro communes has yielded clear results. Thousands of hectares of forest have been planted, contributing to stable income for ethnic minority communities.
Mr. Tu Tan Loc, Director of the company, said: The linkage model has been implemented since 2020 in the form of cooperative production forest planting. Households sign contracts outlining their responsibilities on land managed by the company but which has been encroached upon.
Instead of reclaiming the land, the company surveyed and prepared documents for land allocation for reforestation partnerships with a 5-7 year cycle. The company invested 9.2 million VND per household for seedlings, planting, and care, and guaranteed the purchase of all products at harvest time. Currently, the company has approximately 600 hectares of self-planted forest and is partnering with local people to plant and care for about 2,000 hectares.
In reality, the model has helped many households rise out of poverty. A typical example is Mr. Dinh In (Bla village, Dak Song commune). Previously, his family's economy depended on growing cassava and corn, but the yield was very low. Since 2016, he switched to planting acacia trees on the less productive sloping hills, 1-2 hectares each year. To date, his family has more than 9 hectares of acacia trees, with an average income of 50-60 million VND/hectare per harvesting cycle.
Mr. In shared: "Forestry farming is more advantageous than other crops; it requires less fertilizer, pesticides, and less labor for maintenance. In the beginning, we can even intercrop with short-term crops to increase income."
Similarly, Lo Ku Forestry One-Member Limited Company (Kbang commune) also planted over 1,117 hectares of forest, of which over 466.2 hectares were planted by the company itself, and 651.4 hectares were planted in partnership with local households.
Mr. Pham Khac Hoang, Deputy Director of the company, said: The company is both planting forests and coordinating with the government, villages, and hamlets to encourage people to sign contracts for forest planting; prioritizing households currently encroaching on the company's land to participate in cooperative forest planting that will benefit from the production forest land or voluntarily hand over the land for the company to restore and plant new forests.
Targeting a broader consumer market.
According to Mr. Truong Thanh Ha, Deputy Head of the Provincial Forest Protection Department, the results of reforestation in the western region have shown many positive signs. However, productivity and intensive cultivation techniques are still limited; the types of trees used for reforestation are mainly acacia and eucalyptus, so diversity is lacking. Value chain linkages are still low; products are mainly in semi-processed form, with little direct export.
Currently, the former Gia Lai province has 288 establishments involved in wood production and processing, including civil carpentry, wood chipping, and pellet production, but their operations are mainly limited to sawing and chipping raw materials.
Meanwhile, the former Binh Dinh province had over 415,700 hectares of forest land, with over 345,500 hectares of forested land (over 214,500 hectares of natural forest and over 131,000 hectares of planted forest).
With the advantage of being the "timber industry capital" of the country, the eastern region of the province has developed over 10,100 hectares of large timber forests, with more than 12,100 hectares of forests certified by FSC. The goal is to reach 30,000 hectares of large timber forests by 2035, with an average timber production rate of over 60%.
The former Binh Dinh province has more than 320 wood processing enterprises, concentrated in Phu Tai and Long My industrial zones, with a total investment of approximately 13 trillion VND, aiming to achieve 2 billion USD in export turnover during the 2021-2030 period.
According to Mr. Truong Thanh Ha, the merger of the provinces will leverage the advantages of the raw material areas in the West and the processing industry in the East, creating momentum for the growth of exports of plantation timber.
Therefore, the recent meeting between the Binh Dinh Wood and Forest Products Association, forestry companies, and the management board of the protective forest in the western Gia Lai region has opened up opportunities for cooperation in developing raw material areas, building and maintaining FSC certification, and developing a transparent supply chain from plantations to processing and consumption.
“The two sides exchanged and discussed the needs, potential, and conditions for building a wood processing plant; technical support and training during the cooperation process; and at the same time, promoting sustainable forest development and enhancing the economic value of forests. Implementing FSC certification not only helps improve forest management capacity but also meets the requirements of the international market,” Mr. Ha emphasized.
Mr. Tu Tan Loc believes that surveying and constructing a wood processing plant in the western area of Gia Lai will open up opportunities for production linkages and the sustainable development of planted forest raw material areas; at the same time, it will expand the consumer market and access international importers.
“If we locate the wood processing plant in An Khe ward or Kong Chro commune, it will help reduce transportation costs from 400,000 VND/ton to 150,000-200,000 VND/ton, increasing economic efficiency. At the same time, utilizing branches for chipping will also help increase income for local people and encourage the expansion of planted forest areas,” Mr. Loc analyzed.
Regarding this issue, Mr. Nguyen Sy Hoe, Chairman of the Binh Dinh Wood and Forest Products Association, emphasized: Gia Lai is currently the second largest province in the country in terms of forest area, with over 1 million hectares of forest, including 341,500 hectares of planted forest, and over 69,600 hectares of forest certified by FSC/VFCS-PEFC. This represents a great potential for developing the forestry and wood processing industry in a sustainable and efficient manner.
However, due to its distance from major transportation routes and high transportation costs, the local timber industry has not fully exploited its existing potential and advantages. Therefore, the Association recommends that the province implement policies to support the connection of raw material areas with processing industries; build a stable supply chain; and invest in on-site sawmills and wood drying facilities to reduce costs and enhance competitiveness. In particular, it recommends promoting planning and supporting people and businesses to expand concentrated, internationally certified plantation forests in the western part of the province.
Furthermore, sharing information on export markets, developing brands through international trade promotion cooperation, linking with key export sectors, and utilizing Quy Nhon Port as the main gateway will help expand markets, enhance the value of the local wood industry, and reduce logistics costs.
Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/phat-huy-loi-the-vung-nguyen-lieu-dua-nganh-che-bien-go-but-pha-post566031.html
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