Timber exports surge in major markets

The turnover from timber and furniture exports in the first nine months
of this year is estimated at 2.43 billion USD, a year-on-year increase
of 37.7 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development (MARD).

The ministry reported that the total export turnover of forestry products has risen to 2.6 billion USD.

According to Vietnam’s Timber and Forest Products Association, timber
exports are showing positive signs, as orders for exports from now until
the end of the year have risen rapidly and many of them to the
country’s major markets such as the US and the EU are very substantial.

Timber now is amongst the top five Vietnamese exports, and the country is Southeast Asia’s second biggest timber exporter.

Vietnam now has more than 2,500 timber processing businesses, 2.8
times higher than in 2000 and 7.7 times more than 1990. The number of
non-State businesses represents 90 percent of the total.

Timber exports in recent years have increased sharply with more than
3,000 different items produced. Vietnamese wooden products are now sold
in 120 foreign markets, including the US, EU, Japan, Australia, the
Republic of Korea, China and Malaysia.

However, besides domestic resources, Vietnam also has to import a large amount of materials for the industry.

In the first nine months of this year, Vietnam imported 827 million USD worth of timber, down by 31 percent year-on-year./.

Related Articles

• Furniture exports to China rise sharply
• High rice price cuts exports
• Timber-product exporters sign $3b deals
• Vietnam grants new gold import licenses, quotas
• Traders upbeat on new deals at Expo 2010

Timber suppliers learn about legal issues

Photo: Tuoi Tre

A workshop in Hanoi Monday has supported Vietnamese timber suppliers update with revisions of the Lacey Act of the US,  which is currently Vietnam’s largest furniture trader.

“Supplementary articles of the Lacey Act, dated May 2008, provide challenges and also opportunities for Vietnam to better improve its management of forest, timber import and processing,” Ha Cong Tuan, Deputy Director General Vietnam Directorate of Forestry said in his opening speech of the Legality Training Workshop.

By bettering its management, Vietnam aims to sustain and expand its share of the US furniture market, Tuan noted, emphasising that, “ Vietnam considers the US furniture market a high priority”.

In 2009, Vietnam earned US$1.2 billion from the US furniture market, or 44 percent of its timber export value.

As new product declarations under the Lacey Act are enforced from September, a growing number of US-based forest products importers will seek assurance from their suppliers that products they source have been legally produced.

This means they must be able to demonstrate that the timber has been harvested, possessed, transported, sold and exported without breaking any relevant laws in the country where the tree was grown, even if it was processed in another country.

Combating timber trafficking was also a highlight of the workshop, which brought together representatives from Government, the forestry sector and suppliers of forest products.

“Cooperating on tackling illegal logging will help Vietnamese producers, because as demand increases, Vietnam can gain market access by increasing its supply of legal timber products,” said Francis Donovan, Mission Director of USAID Vietnam, which is among the organisers of the event.

He underscored his country’s commitment to working with Vietnamese producers in the supply of legal and sustainable products that meet international market standards.

Tuan affirmed that Vietnam has cooperated with many countries around the world and made governmental-level commitments to intensify its forest management to prevent illegal logging.

He cited the country’s participation in the ASEAN action plan to adapt to the EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT).

“Illegal logging and timber trade not only undermine conservation, they also lead to reduced profitability of legal trade, loss of foreign revenue and currency exchange, uncollected forest-related taxes and depleted forest resources and services,” said Chen Hin Keong, the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (TRAFFIC) Global Forest Trade Programme Head.

Vietnam has increased its forest coverage from 34.3 percent in 2000 to 39.6 percent in 2009. It is among the world’s top five in terms of increased forest coverage and top ten in terms of furniture exports.

As an exporter of up to 90 percent of its wooden furniture, the country is set to rake in $3 billion from furniture this year.

The workshop was co-organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) with support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Two similar workshops will be held, in Quy Nhon, the central province of Binh Dinh, on August 25, and in Ho Chi Minh City on August 27.

Related Articles

• Tien Thien Caodaism sect issues practice rules
• ASEAN's socio-cultural issues promoted at Da Nang meeting
• Furniture makers ‘neglecting' local market
• Timber-product exporters sign $3b deals
• Egyptian ambassador lauds ties

Timber suppliers learn about legal issues

A workshop was launched in Hanoi on August 23 to help Vietnamese
timber suppliers update with revisions of the Lacey Act of the US ,
which is currently Vietnam’s largest furniture trader.

“Supplementary
articles of the Lacey Act, dated May 2008, provide challenges and also
opportunities for Vietnam to better improve its management of forest,
timber import and processing,” Ha Cong Tuan, Deputy Director General
Vietnam Directorate of Forestry said in his opening speech of the
Legality Training Workshop.

By bettering its management, Vietnam
aims to sustain and expand its share of the US furniture market,
Tuan noted, emphasising that, “ Vietnam considers the US furniture
market a high priority”.

In 2009, Vietnam earned 1.2 billion USD from the US furniture market, or 44 percent of its timber export value.

As
new product declarations under the Lacey Act are enforced from
September, a growing number of US-based forest products importers will
seek assurance from their suppliers that products they source have been
legally produced.

This means they must be able to demonstrate
that the timber has been harvested, possessed, transported, sold and
exported without breaking any relevant laws in the country where the
tree was grown, even if it was processed in another country.

Combating
timber trafficking was also a highlight of the workshop, which brought
together representatives from Government, the forestry sector and
suppliers of forest products.

“Cooperating on tackling illegal
logging will help Vietnamese producers, because as demand increases,
Vietnam can gain market access by increasing its supply of legal
timber products,” said Francis Donovan, Mission Director of USAID
Vietnam, which is among the organisers of the event.

He
underscored his country’s commitment to working with Vietnamese
producers in the supply of legal and sustainable products that meet
international market standards.

Tuan affirmed that Vietnam
has cooperated with many countries around the world and made
governmental-level commitments to intensify its forest management to
prevent illegal logging.

He cited the country’s participation in
the ASEAN action plan to adapt to the EU Action Plan for Forest Law
Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT).

“Illegal logging and
timber trade not only undermine conservation, they also lead to reduced
profitability of legal trade, loss of foreign revenue and currency
exchange, uncollected forest-related taxes and depleted forest resources
and services,” said Chen Hin Keong, the Wildlife Trade Monitoring
Network (TRAFFIC) Global Forest Trade Programme Head.

Vietnam
has increased its forest coverage from 34.3 percent in 2000 to 39.6
percent in 2009. It is among the world’s top five in terms of increased
forest coverage and top ten in terms of furniture exports.

As an
exporter of up to 90 percent of its wooden furniture, the country is set
to rake in 3 billion USD from furniture this year.

The workshop
was co-organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
and the WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) with support from
the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Two similar
workshops will be held, in Quy Nhon, the central province of Binh
Dinh, on August 25, and in Ho Chi Minh City on August 27./.

Related Articles

• Strict punishment for illegal missionaries
• ASEAN's socio-cultural issues promoted at Da Nang meeting
• Furniture makers ‘neglecting' local market
• Timber-product exporters sign $3b deals
• Local universities sign IT agreement

Vietnam, EU embark on forest product dialogue

Vietnam and the EU are to hold the first round of formal negotiations on a bilateral Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) in Hanoi by late November.

At the first VPA preparatory meeting Monday, both sides raised hopes that the negotiations will conclude with the signing of a voluntary partnership agreement by the end of 2012.

The agreement is expected to create conditions for Vietnam ’s timber producers to improve their position on the EU market and increase their ability to adapt to EU market requirements with respect to the legality of timber.

The agreement aims to establish control and licensing procedures in timber producing and processing countries to ensure that only timber products derived from legally harvested timber enter the EU.

At the VPA preparatory meeting, the Charge d’Affaires of the EU delegation Hans Farnhammer emphasised the importance of the agreement. He said, “We do hope that the signing of the FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement will help to further strengthen the position of Vietnam ’s timber and timber products in the EU market.

The forthcoming negotiations are witness to Vietnam ’s commitment to meeting EU consumer demands as well as fighting climate change”.

Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hua Duc Nhi said, “This is the first step to ensure the exports of timber and timber products from Vietnam to the EU continue smoothly in years to come.

In the long run, the VPA will give legal certainty and bankable guarantees to exporters, importers and investors in the timber sector willing to trade with the EU”.

The FLEGT will come into force from January 2012, demanding the transparency of forest products in all fields, from exploitation to end-products, so the EU can trace the origin of raw materials.

The EU has so far signed FLEGT VPA with three African countries and is conducting negotiations with several others in Asia .

Vietnam is one of the world’s biggest timber furniture suppliers and the EU is the second largest market of Vietnamese timber products, following the US .

In the first seven months of the year, Vietnam earned over US$1.9 billion from exports of forest products and wood furniture, representing an increase of 31 percent year on year.

The country, however, has to import raw material and other timber products with revenues hitting $605 million in the first seven months of the year, an increase of 33 percent year on year.

Related Articles

• Timber-product exporters sign $3b deals
• Sminar eulogises inspiring writers
• Insurers see Non-life premiums climb
• Antivirus software passes malware test
• German quality-testing firm offers services

Vietnam, EU embark on forest product dialogue

Vietnam and the EU are to hold the first round of formal negotiations
on a bilateral Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) for Forest Law
Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) in Hanoi by late November.

At the first VPA preparatory meeting on August
16, both sides raised hopes that the negotiations will conclude with the
signing of a voluntary partnership agreement by the end of 2012.

The agreement is expected to create conditions for Vietnam ’s
timber producers to improve their position on the EU market and increase
their ability to adapt to EU market requirements with respect to the
legality of timber. The agreement aims to establish control and
licensing procedures in timber producing and processing countries to
ensure that only timber products derived from legally harvested timber
enter the EU.

At the VPA preparatory meeting, the
Charge d’Affaires of the EU delegation Hans Farnhammer emphasised the
importance of the agreement. He said, “We do hope that the signing of
the FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement will help to further
strengthen the position of Vietnam ’s timber and timber products in
the EU market. The forthcoming negotiations are witness to Vietnam ’s
commitment to meeting EU consumer demands as well as fighting climate
change”.

Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development Hua Duc Nhi said, “This is the first step to ensure the
exports of timber and timber products from Vietnam to the EU continue
smoothly in years to come. In the long run, the VPA will give legal
certainty and bankable guarantees to exporters, importers and investors
in the timber sector willing to trade with the EU”.

The FLEGT will come into force from January 2012, demanding the
transparency of forest products in all fields, from exploitation to
end-products, so the EU can trace the origin of raw materials.

The EU has so far signed FLEGT VPA with three African countries and
is conducting negotiations with several others in Asia .

Vietnam is one of the world’s biggest timber furniture suppliers
and the EU is the second largest market of Vietnamese timber products,
following the US .

In the first seven months of
the year, Vietnam earned over 1.9 billion USD from exports of
forest products and wood furniture, representing an increase of 31
percent year on year. The country, however, has to import raw material
and other timber products with revenues hitting 605 million USD in the
first seven months of the year, an increase of 33 percent year on year./.

Related Articles

• Timber-product exporters sign $3b deals
• Museum shows Hanoi history display
• IOM to help Vietnam with family reunions
• Reuniting overseas Vietnamese with local communities priority
• Shoemakers unlikely to meet target