According to the report of Forest Trends (a research group of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association), the export turnover of woodchips increased sharply since March and peaked in August, then tended to decrease.

However, in the first 10 months of 2022, the export volume of woodchips reached 13.5 million tons, worth USD 2.35 billion, an increase of 18.5% in volume and 61.6% in value over the same period in 2021.

The expansion of woodchip export turnover in recent years is mainly due to the sharp increase in export prices. FOB export price increased from about USD 130/ton to about USD 200/ton in the period of August-October 2022.

Recording the price movement of FOB woodchip exports showed that the highest level from January 2021 to October 2022 was USD 201.3/ton achieved in September.

China and Japan are Vietnam's largest woodchip import markets. The turnover from these two markets accounts for over 95% of the total export turnover of Vietnam's woodchips.

The increase in woodchip exports has made an important contribution to the growth of exports of timber and wood products.

The Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), citing data from the General Department of Customs that the export value of timber and wood products in the first 11 months of 2022 is estimated at USD 14.6 billion, an increase of 9% over the same period in 2021; in which, the export value of wood products is estimated at USD 10.1 billion, increased by 0.8% over the same period last year.

The US, Japan, China, EU and Korea Republic are the five most important markets of Vietnam. In which, the turnover from the US market far exceeds the turnover from other markets.

Kylie Nguyen