Vietnam and the European Union (EU) have just signed off the negotiations on a voluntary partnership agreement on forest law, forest governance and forest product trade (VPA / FLEGT). In the negotiation process, the definition of "legal timber" was not an easy matter, because "legal timber" is considered as the entire supply chain that produces a product must comply with laws of the host country. To export wood products to the EU market, Vietnamese enterprises must prove that the product is made from timber of legal origin. Vietnam has two target groups: "organizations" (including organizations, enterprises or cooperatives). The second group is "households" (including individual households, individuals and communities) engaging in the supply chain of timber products.
Vietnam's wood products are available in 120 countries and territories; The five largest importers were the United States, Japan, the EU, China and South Korea. The export value of wood and forest products has more than doubled in the last five years, estimated at $7.6-7.8 billion in 2017. Vietnam became the fifth country in the world to export wood and non-timber forest products; was ranked first in Southeast Asia.
Reported by H.A – Translated by Ngoc Huynh
