According to data from General Department of Customs, in 2022, wood chip export turnover increased very strongly with export volume of more than 15.8 million tonnes, equivalent to nearly 2.8 billion USD. However, in 2023, wood chip export turnover has decreased significantly compared to 2022 with export volume of just over 14.4 million tonnes (down 8.8%) and export value of more than 2.2 billion USD ( decreased by 20.4%).
Comparing to a period of strong price increases in 2022, average wood chip export price in 2023 has decreased by more than 20 USD to 153.8 USD/tonne (down by 12.7% compared to 2022). In contrast to the record high price in 2022, price of wood chips has dropped sharply from 183 USD/tonne to only approximately 141 USD/tonne in the first half of 2023. Since May 2023, price of exported wood chips only fluctuated around 140-150 USD/tonne.
Vietnam exports wood chips to 13 markets in 2023. China, Japan and Korea are Vietnam's three main wood chip export markets. Out of which China is Vietnam's largest chip export market.
In 2023, Vietnam exported to Chinese market over 9.38 million tonne of wood chips, reached over 1.43 billion USD, accounting for 65.1% in volume and 64.7% in value. In Chinese market, average export price of woodchips decreased from 183-185 USD/tonne at the beginning of 2023 to less than 140 USD/tonne in the middle of the year and increased slightly in the last months of the year but still below 150 USD/tonne, down by about 35 USD/tonne during the year.
The second is Japanese market. Wood chip exports to this market in 2024 reached 3.98 million tonne with a value of 610.43 million USD, accounting for 27.3% in volume and 27.5% in value.
For Japanese market, price of wood chips decreased by 36 USD/tonne in 2023. Specifically, average price of wood chips exported to this market in January 2023 reached 181 USD/tonne but decreased to 145 USD/tonne by December 2023.
Wood chip exports to Korean market reached 548.590 tonnes, reaching 91.88 million USD, accounting for 3.8% in volume and 4.1% in value. Similar to Japanese and Chinese markets, export prices to Korean market have decreased by 27 USD/tonne in 2023 with strong fluctuations during the year. In January 2023, average export price to this market hit a record of 200 USD/tonne but the price decreased continuously to a lowest level of 136 USD/tonne but increased again to 172 USD/tonne in December 2023.
For Taiwan market, both total volume and total turnover declined heavily (down by 37.7% in volume and 41.5% in value compared to 2022).
Vietnam Wood and Forest Products Association said that demand for imported wood chips in Chinese market tend to continue to decline in the near future, leading to a decline in chip export prices in this market. In general, export market structure of wood chips will not change significantly in the near future.
However, wood chip industry will continue to compete in raw materials with pellet industry, especially in the northern provinces because planted forest wood is the main input for both industries in this area. Therefore, enterprises and management agencies need to consider to invest in building raw material sources to ensure a stable supply for production and export.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn