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Vietnam’s wood industry expects strong growth with new trade pacts

By Dam Tuan October 5, 2016 | 08:46 pm PT

The industry is also working to meet higher sourcing standards.

The Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (Viforest) is seeing a bright future ahead for the industry, saying new free trade agreements will help boost shipments.

Nguyen Ton Quyen, chairman of the association, told a recent conference that the industry is expecting an annual growth rate of 15-20 percent, without specifying if that’s for total revenue or exports only.

There are significant opportunities for the industry to expand its market thanks to a number of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements that have and will slash tariffs on Vietnamese wood products, Quyen was quoted by local media as saying.

Vietnamese wood products are available in about 120 countries and territories. Last year the industry’s exports hit $7 billion and are expected to rise to $7.3 billion.

At the conference, the association also discussed the need to meet international standards on sourcing, particularly the requirements of the U.S., Europe, Japan and Australia.

Industry data show that the import volume of non-certified wood from high-risk sources declined from 60 percent of all imported logs in the 2013-2014 period to 50 percent in recent years. Specifically the amount of precious wood from Laos and Myanmar has been sharply reduced.

Sawn wood from high-risk sources also fell from 30 percent to 20 percent.