Producing wooden products for export to EU market of WOODSLAND Tuyen Quang Joint Stock Company (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Despite a tough year due to the COVID-19pandemic, the national wood sector looks set to achieve its export turnovertarget of 12 billion USD, and some wood processing businesses have so manyorders while they are in short of workers to complete them, according to the VietnamTimber and Forest Product Association (Vietforest).
The wood industry has consistently maintained two-digit growth rates in recentyears, but the pandemic caused negative growth in the second quarter of 2020.
Exports of wood products to key markets such as the US, China, the Republic of Korea,Japan and the EU sharply fell from April to June and many factories had totemporarily close due to a lack of orders, materials and capital.
However, once the pandemic was basically controlled in July, countries startedto restore production. Wood businesses resumed production with demand for woodfurniture up significantly.
The efforts of local producers have reaped positive results as the export valueof timber and non-timber products in August topped $1 billion. In the first 10months of the year, wood product exports reached $9.6 billion, up 12.4 percentfrom the same period last year.
Do Xuan Lap, Vietforest’s chairman, said the market has faced fluctuations dueto COVID-19, but domestic wood producers have not waited for customers and havesought new sales channels.
Nguyen Chanh Phuong, vice chairman cum general secretary of the Handicrafts andWood Industry Association of HCM City (HAWA), said since exhibitions and fairswere halted during the pandemic, the association sought orders online anddigitised exhibitions.
The HAWA Online Platform for Exhibition (HOPE), which connects Vietnamese woodprocessing and furniture firms with international and local buyers, waslaunched in August.
HOPE features images of 360-degree showrooms, factories and workshops, a 3Dproduct catalogue, social apps to enable 24/7 interaction between exhibitorsand visitors, digital marketing, live events, and more.
Phuong said technology has brought opportunities but takes time for theadministration. The contactless economy creates lower-cost exposureopportunities that can understand customers better, and turn them into projectsto boost business operation.
Dien Quang Hiep from the Binh Duong Furniture Association (BIFA) said COVID-19has been a test for all industries, including the wood sector.
The pandemic showed local businesses were not prepared for such situations andin the first two quarters of 2020, most firms in the wood industry faceddifficulties.
However, as people were stuck at home due to the pandemic, the demand for homefurniture increased, as did the number of customers shopping online.
This led to wood producers promoting connections online through global onlinesales channels such as Alibaba and Amazon. The BIFA signed deals withrepresentative offices of these channels in Vietnam to promote online sales.
The foreign market has also increased purchases and some importers have shiftedtheir purchases from the Chinese market to Vietnam.
These factors have helped Vietnam’s wooden furniture export market almostcompletely recover and some factories don't even have the capacity for new orders.Many companies in the furniture manufacturing industry are struggling torecruit more workers to produce in time to ensure export orders increase again.
With the rapid recovery of businesses in the wood industry, Lap also said theGovernment’s policies gave timely support to businesses during the peak of thepandemic.
The impact of COVID-19 showed Vietnam’s current wooden furniture export supplychains have not been good, depending on imported raw materials.
However, they were quickly linked together, minimising dependence from outside.Since then, businesses have offered products such as kitchen cabinets andbathroom cabinets, creating a breakthrough for Vietnamese firms.
Earlier, export wooden furniture was mainly outdoor furniture. Now businesseshave identified products such as kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets anddecorative boards as important.
In the first nine months of 2020, kitchen cabinets and bathroom cabinets aloneachieved an export value of nearly $1 billion, up more than 80 percent over thesame period in 2019.
Ha Cong Tuan, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said theresults have shown that local firms have creativity in administration,negotiations and developing new products.
He said the wood industry should improve product competitiveness and increaseproductivity for sustainable development.
The deputy minister said associations and enterprises in the wood processingand exporting industry need to have a good understanding of Government Decree102/2020/ND-CP on Vietnam’s timber legality assurance system.
The implementation of this decree would not only help reduce non-tariffbarriers on traceability and accountability to the EU market but also create apositive reputation for Vietnam’s wood industry in other markets.
Hiep said businesses should work together in addition to investing machines andtechnologies.
To build a whole business community, it is essential to have policies from theState to establish a concentrated specialised industrial park. After that,businesses could cooperate to create specialisations in production, helpingreduce investment and transportation costs, he added./.
The wood industry has consistently maintained two-digit growth rates in recentyears, but the pandemic caused negative growth in the second quarter of 2020.
Exports of wood products to key markets such as the US, China, the Republic of Korea,Japan and the EU sharply fell from April to June and many factories had totemporarily close due to a lack of orders, materials and capital.
However, once the pandemic was basically controlled in July, countries startedto restore production. Wood businesses resumed production with demand for woodfurniture up significantly.
The efforts of local producers have reaped positive results as the export valueof timber and non-timber products in August topped $1 billion. In the first 10months of the year, wood product exports reached $9.6 billion, up 12.4 percentfrom the same period last year.
Do Xuan Lap, Vietforest’s chairman, said the market has faced fluctuations dueto COVID-19, but domestic wood producers have not waited for customers and havesought new sales channels.
Nguyen Chanh Phuong, vice chairman cum general secretary of the Handicrafts andWood Industry Association of HCM City (HAWA), said since exhibitions and fairswere halted during the pandemic, the association sought orders online anddigitised exhibitions.
The HAWA Online Platform for Exhibition (HOPE), which connects Vietnamese woodprocessing and furniture firms with international and local buyers, waslaunched in August.
HOPE features images of 360-degree showrooms, factories and workshops, a 3Dproduct catalogue, social apps to enable 24/7 interaction between exhibitorsand visitors, digital marketing, live events, and more.
Phuong said technology has brought opportunities but takes time for theadministration. The contactless economy creates lower-cost exposureopportunities that can understand customers better, and turn them into projectsto boost business operation.
Dien Quang Hiep from the Binh Duong Furniture Association (BIFA) said COVID-19has been a test for all industries, including the wood sector.
The pandemic showed local businesses were not prepared for such situations andin the first two quarters of 2020, most firms in the wood industry faceddifficulties.
However, as people were stuck at home due to the pandemic, the demand for homefurniture increased, as did the number of customers shopping online.
This led to wood producers promoting connections online through global onlinesales channels such as Alibaba and Amazon. The BIFA signed deals withrepresentative offices of these channels in Vietnam to promote online sales.
The foreign market has also increased purchases and some importers have shiftedtheir purchases from the Chinese market to Vietnam.
These factors have helped Vietnam’s wooden furniture export market almostcompletely recover and some factories don't even have the capacity for new orders.Many companies in the furniture manufacturing industry are struggling torecruit more workers to produce in time to ensure export orders increase again.
With the rapid recovery of businesses in the wood industry, Lap also said theGovernment’s policies gave timely support to businesses during the peak of thepandemic.
The impact of COVID-19 showed Vietnam’s current wooden furniture export supplychains have not been good, depending on imported raw materials.
However, they were quickly linked together, minimising dependence from outside.Since then, businesses have offered products such as kitchen cabinets andbathroom cabinets, creating a breakthrough for Vietnamese firms.
Earlier, export wooden furniture was mainly outdoor furniture. Now businesseshave identified products such as kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets anddecorative boards as important.
In the first nine months of 2020, kitchen cabinets and bathroom cabinets aloneachieved an export value of nearly $1 billion, up more than 80 percent over thesame period in 2019.
Ha Cong Tuan, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said theresults have shown that local firms have creativity in administration,negotiations and developing new products.
He said the wood industry should improve product competitiveness and increaseproductivity for sustainable development.
The deputy minister said associations and enterprises in the wood processingand exporting industry need to have a good understanding of Government Decree102/2020/ND-CP on Vietnam’s timber legality assurance system.
The implementation of this decree would not only help reduce non-tariffbarriers on traceability and accountability to the EU market but also create apositive reputation for Vietnam’s wood industry in other markets.
Hiep said businesses should work together in addition to investing machines andtechnologies.
To build a whole business community, it is essential to have policies from theState to establish a concentrated specialised industrial park. After that,businesses could cooperate to create specialisations in production, helpingreduce investment and transportation costs, he added./.
VNA
