Wood and wood product exports surpass historical milestone
General Department of Customs (Ministry of Industry and Trade) cited data from General Department of Customs, saying that it is estimated that in the fourth quarter of 2024, export value of wood and wood products reach 4.5 billion USD, up 7.4% compared to the third quarter of 2024 and up 17.3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. Of which, export value of wood products is estimated at 3.2 billion USD, up 6.8% compared to the third quarter of 2024 and up 17.4% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.
In general, in 2024, export value of wood and wood products is estimated to reach 16.25 billion USD, an increase of 20.3% compared to 2023. Of which, export value of wood products is estimated to reach 11.2 billion USD, an increase of 21.9% compared to 2023.
Compared to old record set in 2022 (15.8 billion USD), export turnover of wood in 2024 has exceeded about 500 million USD. Along with wood, non-timber forest products also contributed 1.04 billion USD in 2024, helping total export value reach about 17.3 billion USD.
In 2024, Vietnam's export of wood and wood products achieved impressive results, overcoming many challenges to get closer to set target.
Results achieved are thanks to efforts of enterprises in wood industry, proactively seeking markets, participating in trade fairs and exhibitions and shifting from processing for export to designing new models and improving product quality. Along with that, recovery of consumption in major markets such as the United States and Europe, especially in the US market, has created opportunities for wood industry to accelerate exports. In addition, Vietnamese wood industry has penetrated deeper into important markets and expanded its presence in emerging markets such as UAE and India.
Forecast of 18 billion USD
Despite achieving positive results, wood industry still faces many challenges such as requirement to control legal origin of wood from major export markets, risk of trade fraud, competitive pressure and global economic fluctuations.
With current growth momentum and efforts of businesses and management agencies, Vietnamese wood industry is expected to continue to achieve new achievements, consolidating its position in international market.
Export prospects of wood and wood products in 2025 are forecasted to be positive, with an export target of about 18 billion USD (according to Department of Forestry - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development).
However, export prospects of wood industry in 2025 depend on many factors, including global economic recovery, consumer demand in major markets, trade policies and competitiveness of businesses in the industry.
Main export markets bring export prospects to the wood industry, in which the US market is the leader but strong competitive pressure from other suppliers such as China, Malaysia, Indonesia, this requires Vietnamese businesses to focus on developing products with added value.
Next is the EU market, EVFTA (Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement) continues to bring tariff advantages, expanding opportunities for wood and processed products. In Chinese market, demand is increasing due to urbanization and construction development. However, businesses will have to meet stricter requirements on legal wood origin.
Market challenges that wood industry faces include: Major markets such as EU, the US, etc. increasingly tighten requirements on wood origin, requiring Vietnamese businesses to improve control of supply chain; markets such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia are all strong competitors in the region; risk of economic downturn in major markets can affect consumption demand. Therefore, wood industry needs to prepare carefully to overcome challenges and meet the increasing demands of international market.
Mr. Ngo Sy Hoai - Vice President and General Secretary of Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association (VIFOREST) - informed that Vietnam has exported wood and wood products to over 160 countries and territories. With such late integration, wood industry is being "examined" very closely and has to deal with many trade prevention cases.
To achieve export figure of 17.5 - 18 billion USD, Mr. Ngo Sy Hoai said that trade promotion is one of the most important tasks.
However, in the past time, domestic and foreign trade fairs, with support of Trade Promotion Agency, local enterprises and associations have participated in fairs but not many. Therefore, it is recommended that Trade Promotion Agency have policies to encourage enterprises in the Northern region and craft village enterprises to participate in more fairs. Participating in fairs to sign contracts immediately is difficult, but attending fairs to "expand" is necessary.
With domestic fairs, Vietnam has become a wood processing center in the world, currently large wood industry fairs are held in Vietnam. Therefore, it is recommended that Trade Promotion Agency, through trade counselors abroad, promote and introduce these fairs; thereby attracting more attention from international markets.
For the wood industry in general, it is still operating in a processing method, not focusing on branding. Ministries and branches are focusing on export growth figures, but businesses need to focus on profits. Therefore, in the coming years, there needs to be changes, developing in depth, instead of horizontally.
Because wooden products are bulky products, participation in e-commerce sites such as Alibaba, ... is still limited and difficult to implement, so it is recommended that the Trade Promotion Agency pay attention to e-commerce for the wood industry.
Wood industry is an industry that is actively transforming digitally and greenly to meet regulations of major markets such as the EU, the United States, etc. Therefore, at national level, Mr. Ngo Sy Hoai also wants Ministry of Industry and Trade to send message "Vietnam's wood industry says no to illegal wood" to world market.
Regarding this, according to Mr. Tran Quang Bao - Director of the Department of Forestry (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), green factor will be one of the major impacts on Vietnam's wood export trends in the long term, when many regulations of the markets are being implemented and enforced such as the anti-deforestation regulations (EUDR) or European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
Therefore, in addition to building high-tech processing zones, expanding export market share, proactively promoting trade in wood and wood products in major markets, developing sales through e-commerce channels, wood industry needs to pay more attention and invest in raw material areas. Specifically, it is to develop more large timber plantations, sustainably managed forests and certified forests (FSC or PEFC).
Currently, Forestry Department has coordinated with units to pilot issuance of forest plantation area codes in some northern provinces, and will expand nationwide. Task of this code is to develop a legal timber supply chain, ensure traceability of timber origin in accordance with international requirements, as well as develop a method of measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) to determine the carbon absorption and storage capacity of planted forests. "The higher standards of Vietnam's plantation forests, easier it is for wood and wood products to penetrate demanding markets," Mr. Tran Quang Bao emphasized.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn