Wooden handicraft products lose appeal, craft villages face difficulties

For the past 5 years, the fine art carpentry villages in Phu Binh district have continuously encountered difficulties due to the decreasing consumption market, slow sales of products, or even unsold products... This has significantly affected the income of households doing the job.

Phu Lam fine art carpentry village, Kha Son commune (Phu Binh) currently has only 13 households producing and trading fine art wooden products (nearly 20 households less than when the village was first established).

In fact, we learned that production and business activities in craft villages are much quieter than 5 years ago. Mr. Nghiem Quang Tao, owner of a facility in Phu Lam Fine Arts Carpentry Village, Kha Son Commune, shared: Before 2018, when the village's products were still purchased by Chinese traders and people placed many orders, on average, my family sold 8-10 products per month.

However, in the past 5 years, because the demand for wood products is not as high as before, on average, I only sell 1-2 products per month, worth 25-30 million VND/product, down 80% compared to 2018. There were even months when my family could not sell any products. Therefore, I was forced to cut the workforce from 7 people to 1 person, paying 350 thousand VND/day, down 150 thousand VND compared to 2018.

Similarly, at An Chau Fine Arts Carpentry Village, specializing in the production of antique wooden furniture, in Nga My Commune, production and business activities are not any better. Mr. Ta Van Hung, Head of the Craft Village, sadly said: In 2018, my family's carpentry workshop always maintained 5-6 workers. Each month, we produced and sold 3-4 products, worth hundreds of millions of VND, with revenue reaching over 1 billion VND/year. But now, the consumption market is decreasing day by day, there are times when I cannot sell any products for several months. Therefore, I mainly use my family's labor to maintain production, while reducing product prices by 20% to compete with the market.

Decreasing orders and slow consumption are also common situations for households producing and trading wooden products in Phuong Do Fine Arts Carpentry Village, Xuan Phuong Commune. According to households in the craft village, the slow consumption is partly due to Chinese customers not purchasing; partly due to economic difficulties, people's shopping needs have decreased. On the other hand, in the market today, there are many types of aluminum, glass and plastic products that can replace wooden products, while their durability is not inferior. Therefore, a part of the people have gradually switched to using aluminum, glass and plastic products to make doors and household items.

Phu Binh district currently has 3 fine art carpentry villages, including Phuong Do fine art carpentry village; Phu Lam fine art carpentry village and An Chau fine art carpentry village. To maintain the operation of the craft village, many households still decide to stick with the profession left by their ancestors, even though production is only at a moderate level. However, there are also households that cannot maintain it because they cannot afford the bank loan interest, so they have to liquidate their machinery, change their profession, and find other jobs to earn income.

In Phu Lam Carpentry Village alone, if in 2010 - when it was first established, there were over 30 households participating in the production and trading of wooden handicrafts, now there are only 13 households. Revenue has therefore also decreased from over 20 billion VND to about 3 billion VND/year.

Faced with the above situation, people in the woodcraft villages in Phu Binh district hope to receive timely attention and support from relevant authorities to overcome the difficult period and maintain stable production. This will contribute to the sustainable development of the craft villages.

Source