According to data from General Department of Customs, in May 2024, exports of rattan, bamboo, sedge and carpet products from Vietnam reached 66.37 million USD, down slightly by 0.4% compared to April 2024 and up 7.3% over the same period in 2023.
In general, in the first 5 months of 2024, exports of rattan, bamboo, sedge and carpet products reached 334.5 million USD, up 15.4% over the same period in 2023. This shows positive signals in export of handicraft products despite the world economy facing many difficulties.
In terms of markets, the United States remained Vietnam's largest export market in the first 5 months of the year, reaching more than 136.7 million USD, up 31% over the same period last year, accounting for 40.9%. In May alone, exports of rattan, bamboo, sedge and carpets to the US earned more than 31.5 million USD, up 29% over March 2023.
Ranked second is the Japanese market. In May, this country imported 3.6 million USD, down 8.7% over May 2023. In the first 5 months, Vietnam earned 20.9 million USD from exporting this item to the cherry blossom country, down 3% over the same period in 2023, accounting for 6.3%.
The UK market is Vietnam's third largest export market in this sector with 20.5 million USD in the first 5 months 2024, up 7.4% over the same period in 2023, accounting for 6.1%. In May alone, this market imported 2.4 million USD from Vietnam, down sharply by 37% compared to the previous month.
In 2022, Vietnam will rank 2nd (after China) among the countries and territories exporting the most bamboo and rattan in the world and 10th in the world in carpet exports, with an average growth rate of 29.5%/year. Experts say that possibility of capturing 10-15% of the world market share is completely feasible. When global bamboo market size is expected to reach 82.9 billion USD in 2028, bamboo and rattan can bring in billions of USD for Vietnam.
According to Vietnam Handicraft Export Association (VIETCRAFT), every 1 million USD of exporting handicraft products brings 5-10 times more profit than the mining industry, with a very high export content.
Opportunity for Vietnam to dominate the rattan and bamboo market is huge because domestic bamboo area is up to 1.5 million hectares, distributed in most provinces across the country, of which 37/63 provinces have an area of over 10,000 hectares. Vietnam's bamboo resources are rich and diverse with hundreds of species, including some high economic species.
In particular, the whole country has over 1,000 rattan and bamboo weaving villages, accounting for 24% of the total number of handicraft villages. In particular, the Northern and Central regions focus on rattan, bamboo and sedge products, while the Southwest region focuses on products made from water fern and buong leaves.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn