AsemconnectVietnam - Vietnam's wood industry is taking advantage of incentives from free trade agreements (FTAs) to expand its market, increase competitiveness and aim for an export target of 25 billion USD by 2030, based on sustainable forest development and building a more transparent supply chain.

FTAs expand the market, increase competitiveness for Vietnamese wood
The global furniture market is currently about 405 billion USD per year, of which the demand for imported wood and wood products accounts for 230 billion USD. With an export turnover of over 17.3 billion USD, equivalent to about 7% of the global market share, the Vietnamese wood industry still has a lot of room to grow strongly.
In the first 10 months of 2025 alone, wood and wood product exports reached 14 billion USD, an increase of 6% over the same period last year; in which wood products reached 9.6 billion USD, up by 5.2%. These figures clearly reflect the efforts of Vietnamese enterprises to overcome difficulties in the context of fluctuating international markets.
Free trade agreements such as CPTPP, EVFTA, UKVFTA and agreements with ASEAN, Japan, Korea, Chile or China continue to open up large space when many tax lines are deeply cut.
In addition, cooperation mechanisms on legal timber exploitation and trade help Vietnamese enterprises enhance their reputation, meeting increasingly strict requirements from import markets. This is an important stepping stone for Vietnamese wood to expand its market share in traditional areas and gradually approach new markets.
Along with that, domestic raw material sources reach over 30 million m³ per year, meeting about 75% of processing needs, which is a prominent advantage. The area of forest certified with FSC and PEFC sustainable management is increasing rapidly, along with the process of granting planting area codes.
Thanks to that, Vietnamese wood processing enterprises have the conditions to expand production scale, increase traceability and enhance competitiveness. Experience in linking enterprises and forest growers continues to be effective, creating a closed production - supply chain, reducing costs and increasing added value.
Despite many prospects, the Vietnamese wood industry still faces many pressures from inflation in key export markets, increasing logistics costs, and increasingly strict environmental control requirements such as CBAM or EUDR.
In addition, countervailing duties and investigations under Section 232 of the United States also force enterprises to be more proactive in risk management. This is a big challenge but also a driving force for enterprises to strongly transform to green production models, standardize supply chains and upgrade technology.
Aiming for 25 billion USD in exports with a green supply chain
The Vietnamese wood industry aims to achieve 23-25 billion USD in export turnover by 2030, while increasing the value of domestic forest product consumption to over 6 billion USD. To achieve these milestones, the industry is synchronously implementing many key programs.
The wood industry aims to achieve 25 billion USD in exports by 2030
In the first 10 months of 2025, the export value of wood and wood products from Vietnam reached 14 billion USD.
In which, sustainable forest management and development is identified as a key foundation. By 2030, 100% of forest areas of Vietnamese forest owners must meet sustainable management standards; 20% of natural forest areas will be upgraded in quality in the period 2026-2030; the output of timber harvested from planted forests is expected to reach 50 million m³.
Regarding the processing industry, the goal by 2030 is to ensure that over 80% of facilities reach advanced technology levels. Many high-tech forest product processing industrial parks are oriented for development, creating motivation for businesses to innovate machinery, improve productivity and reduce emissions.
The system of granting planting area codes and sustainable forest certification is being widely deployed, contributing to building a transparent supply chain, meeting the strict requirements of a demanding market.
Four major groups of solutions proposed by the Vietnamese wood industry include: perfecting the legal framework, tax and credit solutions, promoting trade and managing legal wood origins; continuing to negotiate reciprocal tax reductions with the United States, prioritizing the exploitation of advantages from FTAs, reforming administrative procedures and attracting investment in afforestation - wood processing are still the focus.
In parallel, the Vietnamese wood industry promotes trade promotion, organizes international fairs, and expands to new markets such as Brazil, India or the Middle East.
Another important solution is to strictly control the origin of wood. The industry is determined to prevent illegal wood from entering the supply chain, build a database of forestry law violations, upgrade the traceability system and limit transit activities to prevent trade fraud. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry and Trade regularly coordinate, provide information and support businesses in responding to trade defense lawsuits. With an average growth rate of over 15% per year and an export network covering 170 countries, Vietnamese wood has risen to the top of Southeast Asia, second in Asia and fifth globally.
If we continue to take advantage of FTAs, promote green transformation and sustainable forest development, the Vietnamese wood industry has every basis to make a breakthrough, reach the target of 25 billion USD by 2030 and consolidate its position on the world trade map.
CK
Source: VITIC/ haiquanonline.com.vn