According to statistics in the first four months of 2016, Vietnam’s woodwork industry further maintained its growth. Businesses in the industry have also begun attaching special importance to domestic market.
Export turnover on slight rise
Vietnam’s woodwork export turnover in the first four months of 2016 was estimated at more than US$2.1billion, a year-on-year increase of 1.7%. Noticeably, the industry’s export turnover to the U.S only saw a slight increase of 1.29% against last year’s same period. There was a decrease in woodwork export turnover in some markets like Japan, South Korea, Britain…
Wood flooring planks for export being processed at Kim Thanh A Woodwork Processing Co. in Thuan An town
Luu Phuoc Loc, Vice-Chairman of Binh Duong Furniture Association said that the country’s woodwork export turnover since early this year has still gone up as the industry saw a strong increase in export turnover from China. In April alone, the industry’s export value to the market secured US$97mln, up 50.56% against the previous month.
Whilst, according to some woodwork enterprises in Binh Duong, the industry’s export turnover to the U.S has gone down because people here are focusing on tourism spending. Businesses in the industry are also receiving good signs from the market when the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) takes effects. Some large-scale woodwork enterprises in Binh Duong are now under restructuring and equitization, greatly affecting export and production activities in the industry.
Also according to BIFA, European countries are narrowing their production scale in woodwork industry while Chinese wooden products are facing anti-dumping methods from the U.S. This is a good chance for Vietnam’s woodwork industry to open its market. But, domestic businesses in the industry will also encounter severe competitiveness from the TPP. They also need to reinforce domestic market towards sustainable development.
Hosting fast to traditional market
HCM city’s Wooden and Agricultural Products Expo 2016 has just held with 500 stalls mainly displaying handicrafts and wooden products made from foreign and domestic materials. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also spoke highly of the expo and it was seen as an important trade promotion event for woodwork industry.
Tran Thanh Trung, Director of MT Woodwork Processing Co. in Di An town said that he has learnt lessons from the expo. For example, domestic woodwork market now has enormous potentiality. Wooden products from countries in the region like Thailand, Malaysia…have high-quality with competitive prices compared to those in domestic market. This is also a big challenge for woodwork industry of Vietnam in general and Binh Duong in particular. Rivals from Japan, South Korea are forwarding steps to set up a chain of woodwork outlets in the southern region.
One of the industry’s tasks that need to be done at present is to host fast to domestic market along with maintaining the source of clients from the U.S and Europe. For the U.S, demonstration of legality for wooden products is very important. Meanwhile, according to some woodwork enterprises in Thuan An town, environment is an important issue to host fast to European market.
Provincial Department of Industry and Trade has just held a meeting to check and take over a subject on researching and applying cleaner production methods into building up the cleaner production model for woodwork processing and garment enterprises in the province, which is implemented by provincial Industrial Development Consultancy and Promotion Center. This is an effort by the local functional agencies, helping woodwork enterprises more effectively work as well as well realizing environmental protection…
Reported by Xuan Vi-Translated by K.T
