Booming 'furniture exports 2019: a record $ 11.5 billion

The export value of wood and wood products in 2019 set a record of 11.5 billion USD, up nearly 20% compared to the previous year. The Vietnamese timber industry community has made no secret of its ambitious goals to bring the total export value of wood products to US $ 20 billion by 2025, raising the added value of “Made in Vietnam” wood products.

The wood processing and export industry in Vietnam has been producing miraculous growth for almost 20 years. In 2000, the export turnover of wooden products only reached 219 thousand USD; By 2019, it will exceed 11.5 billion USD, increasing by 50 times. Turnover of wooden furniture in the domestic market in 2000 was insignificant, in 2019 it is estimated to reach 3 billion USD. In 2000, there were only about 100 wood manufacturing and trading enterprises nationwide.In 2019, there were about 5,300 wood production and trading enterprises in the country, not to mention tens of thousands of small-scale production households in the country. wood craft village.

EXPLOITED EXPORT

In the past 20 years, the timber business community has made an extraordinary feat and grown. Vietnamese wood products not only create the brand of Made in Vietnam wood, but also create pervasive force in European and American markets ... Currently, Vietnam is the 2nd largest timber exporter in Asia, after China and one of the world's five largest timber exporters, said Nguyen Ton Quyen, former general secretary of the Timber and Forest Products Association. According to the General Department of Forestry, the export of wood and wood products in 2019 is estimated at US $ 11.5 billion, up 19.5% compared to 2018. Wood and wood products are a surplus product group. Vietnam's largest trade in exported agricultural, forestry and fishery products with a surplus of over US $ 7 billion, up to 20.9% compared to 2018. In 2019, Vietnam is considered to have taken advantage of Good export opportunities compared to other tropical timber exporters such as Indonesia, Malaysia or some other exporters. Making good use of these opportunities is the driving force behind Vietnam's export of timber and timber products to the US market. US-China trade tensions, along with Vietnam's participation in new-generation free trade agreements such as CPTPP and EVFTA, have contributed to the breakthrough in Vietnam's export of wood products.

Regarding the market, the United States, Japan, China, EU and South Korea continued to maintain the position of the five largest import markets of wood and wood products of Vietnam with about 81% of the total export value of this commodity group. in the last year. Vietnam's exports of wood and wood products to the US will grow by 34.5% in 2019. If in 2018, the US market accounted for 42.6% of Vietnam's wood product export turnover, then in 2019 has risen to account for nearly 48% of total exports of this product. Ranked second is Japan, in 2018 accounting for 13.2% of the total turnover, then 2019 also holds the same market share. Last year, wood export witnessed a decline in the Chinese market, if in 2018 accounted for 13.2% of the total export value of our country, in 2019, it would have dropped to 12.2%. The fourth position belongs to the EU, accounting for 9.3% in 2018 and 8.4% in 2019. The fifth is South Korea, accounting for 11.1% in 2018 and 8.3% in 2019.

In terms of product categories, woodchips, wood pellets, planks and furniture are items with high export value. In 2018, the amount of wood pellets exported was about 3.02 million tons, worth 409.4 million USD. In the first 3 quarters of 2019, export of tablets reached 2.21 million tons and 259.1 million USD, a slight decrease compared to the same period last year. Export of woodchip has expanded very quickly in recent times and is on an upward trend: in 2018, it reached 10.38 million tons of dry wood (equivalent to 20.2 million m3 of log timber), bringing in $ 1.34 billion, accounting for 15.8% of the total export value of all wood products in the same year. The number of export chips in the first 3 quarters of 2019 reached 9.06 million tons, bringing in US $ 1.27 billion. Estimated wood chip export in 2019 is more than 12 million tons and nearly 1.7 billion USD. Import markets for Vietnam's woodchips include China, Japan and South Korea.

Furniture and furniture are the highest export items, reaching US $ 4 billion in 2018 (accounting for over 47% of the total export turnover of the entire wood industry) and 3.37 billion USD in the first 3 quarters of 2019. The estimated export turnover of wooden furniture and interior parts in 2019 is about USD 4.5 billion.

Seats are one of the important export items of the wood industry. On average, Vietnam exports about 80 million seats a year, with a turnover of over US $ 1.3 billion. In 2019, Vietnam's seat export turnover reached US $ 1.36 billion. The United States is Vietnam's largest chair import market, accounting for nearly 60% of total exports of this item to all markets; followed by Japan and Korea. Joinery joinery is also a commodity with relatively export turnover, reaching 236.6 million USD in 2018 and 199.7 million USD in the first 3 quarters of 2019.

PASSION 20 BILLION USD

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Tri, Director General of the General Department of Forestry, said that Vietnam's export wood processing industry has been expanding rapidly in recent times, especially reflected in the constantly established export turnover. New records, impressive export growth at double digits for many years. Current trends show that the industry will continue to maintain growth momentum, especially in large markets such as the United States, South Korea and Japan.

The growth momentum of the industry is also reflected in foreign direct investment (FDI), with the number of FDI projects investing in the industry increasing rapidly in recent times. The driving force for development and expansion of the industry is the convergence of many factors, including open policies and mechanisms in import-export and investment, cheap labor, relatively infrastructure system. The development and access to favorable and special material sources must include the great dynamism and creativity of enterprises. The US-China trade war offers tremendous opportunities for the industry in expanding market share, creating rapid growth in exports. “The Vietnamese government and business community does not hide its ambitious goals to bring the total export value of wood products to US $ 20 billion by 2025, raising the added value of wood products Made in Vietnam. Nam and continue to diversify products, expand existing production scale and develop new technologies, ”Mr. Tri emphasized.

TS To Xuan Phuc, an expert at Forest Trends, analyzed: The global timber trade picture is changing a lot and this is directly affecting Vietnam's timber industry. There are a number of reasons for the change, including changes in the legality requirements of timber products in major pepper markets such as the US, EU, South Korea or Japan. The US-China trade war, which has not shown any sign of stopping, is also one of the basic causes for the supply-demand movement of goods and products. Vietnam's wood industry has been actively responding to these changes. Responses include new policy mechanisms at the national level and changes in the business activities of enterprises to expand production and seize new market opportunities.

Mr. To Xuan Phuc said that, along with the advantages, the wood processing industry in Vietnam is also facing risks, including risks in trade fraud and in imported wood materials. In the context of the ongoing US-China trade war, with some signs that some wooden items imported into Vietnam from China, took Vietnam's labels and exported to the United States to avoid new U.S. Government tax rates on goods originating from China.

Mr. Phuc recommended that, in order to control risks, the central management agency should coordinate closely with local timber associations to monitor and grasp the situation of underground investment and shadow investment. form important gateways in controlling FDI investment. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and concerned ministries and branches should intensify the inspection and handling of trade fraud issues. In particular, the direct management agencies involved such as agencies in charge of import and export, trade defense, customs, foreign investment, C / O issuers and timber associations actively coordinate. rigid. In addition, there should be policies to support the connection and exchange of information between businesses, contributing to promoting the transition of management, skilled labor, science and technology. from FDI enterprises to domestic enterprises.