Wood exports are showing signs of recovery, but export turnover in 2023 is unlikely to reach the target of USD 17 billion as set out at the beginning of the year.

It is expected that from now until the end of the year, Vietnam's export turnover of timber and wood products can reach about USD 6 billion, bringing the total export turnover for the whole year to about USD 14 - 14.5 billion. This is information shared by Mr. Nguyen Chanh Phuong, Vice Chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA) at the press conference of the International Exhibition of industrial machinery and equipment for the wood processing industry (VietnamWood 2023) held in Ho Chi Minh City on the afternoon of September 13.

According to Mr. Nguyen Chanh Phuong, in the first months of 2023, the export situation of timber and wood products is not very positive, with a shortage of orders common in most businesses. In the past 8 months, Vietnam's export turnover of timber and wood products reached about USD 8.3 billion, a decrease of nearly 26% over the same period.

However, from May 2023 until now, Vietnam's exports of timber and wood products has shown positive signs of recovery, on average each month can reach over USD 1.2 billion/month. According to forecasts, from now until the end of the year, the export of timber and wood products can reach an additional USD 6 billion, bringing the total export turnover in 2023 to about USD 14 - 14.5 billion.

On the other hand, citing data from the International Trade Center (ITC), a representative of HAWA said that Vietnamese wood industry enterprises are also importing a lot of machinery and equipment, with sales of up to about USD 240 million, mainly from China, Europe, Korea Republic, Japan.

In the context of high order pressure but the number of workers tends to decrease, Vietnamese wood businesses have prioritized investing in machinery relatively heavily in recent years.

With this trend, the Exhibition of industrial machinery and equipment for the wood processing industry (VietnamWood 2023) and the Vietnam International Furniture Accessories, Hardware & Tools Fair (Furnitec 2023) held simultaneously at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) from September 20 - 23, 2023 will be an opportunity for businesses to access new technologies, equipment and machinery in the industry.

Kylie Nguyen