AsemconnectVietnam - In the first six months of 2023, Vietnam’s exports of wood and wood products reached nearly 6.06 billion USD, down by 27.9% compared to the first six months of 2022.

According to the calculations from the preliminary statistics figures of the General Department of Customs, Vietnam's exports of wood and wood products in June of 2023 reached over 1.09 billion USD, up by 3.7% compared to May of 2023 but down by 22.4% compared to June of 2022.
In general, in the first 6 months of 2023, the exports of this group of products reached nearly 6.06 billion USD, down by 27.9% compared to the first 6 months of 2022; in which, the exports wood products alone reached over 4.13 billion USD, accounting for 68.2% of the total export turnover of this commodity group, down by 31.9%.
Vietnam's wood and wood products group was mainly exported to the US market, which accounted for 54% of the total export turnover of this product group of the country, reaching nearly 3.27 billion USD, down by 32.8% compared to the same period last year. In June of 2023 alone, the exports to this market reached 622.66 million USD, down by 1% compared to May of 2023 and by 19.2% compared to June of 2022 due to poor purchasing power and reduced orders. Besides, the wood industry has faced anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations since 2020 and so far, after 7 delays, the US Department of Commerce has not yet issued a final decision.
Besides, some markets also achieved high turnover, such as Japan reached 812.82 million USD, accounting for 13.4%, down by 3.7%; China reached 706.57 million USD, accounting for 11.7%, down by 25.4%; South Korea 394.4 million USD, accounting for 6.5%, down by 25.6%. The exports of wood and wood products to Southeast Asia market reached 131.08 million USD, accounting for 2.2%, down by 13%.
In general, in the first 6 months of 2023, export turnover of wood and wood products to most markets decreased compared to the first 6 months of 2022.
Although wood exports fell sharply in the first half of 2023, there were groups which still saw growth, such as fiberboard products have an export turnover of nearly 32 million USD to India, up by 3 times compared to the same period last year.
In the first 6 months of this year, the exports of woodchip products achieved an export turnover of more than 1 billion USD, up by 3% over the same period of 2022. China and Japan were still the two main markets for woodchips exported from Vietnam. The exports to China accounted for over 70%.
The Vietnam Wood and Forest Products Association expects that in the coming time, the demand for pellets in the South Korean market will increase again with a consumption of 100,000 tonnes/month. In Japan, Vietnamese enterprises have signed long-term contracts of 2-3 years to supply tablets. It can be seen that the two major import markets of Vietnam's tablets, South Korea and Japan, (accounting for 98% of the total volume) are showing good signals.
The European market gradually stabilized after the fever of energy supplies, including biomass fuel. However, with strong commitments to reduce emissions and increase the use of bio-energy, pellet exports may recover in both price and volume from the last months of 2023. This is a good sign for the wood industry of Vietnam. Along with that, many businesses also find separate ways to find new customers for the next phase of the wood industry to cope with current difficulties. Furniture exported the European market, with decorative items considered as a niche market, is expected to grow 4.27% per year for the period 2023-2026, and by 2026 it can reach 7.05 billion USD. With the more indigenous and unique interior decoration products, Vietnamese small and medium enterprises have more niche markets, which will target certain customers in the European market.
CK
Source: VITIC