Wood exports expected to hit US$8.85 billion this year

• Wood exports hoped to reach US$9 billion ahead of schedule
• Wood industry sees promise of growth in CPTPP

Wooden planks are manufactured at Minh Duong Furniture Corporation in Quang Nam Province's Nui Thanh District.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade made the forecast based on strong growth of the sector in the past 10 month.

Timber and wood products earned the country over US$7.22 billion between January and October, increasing 15.6% against the same period last year. 

Importing nearly US$3.12 billion worth of Vietnamese wood and wood-based products, the United States was Vietnam's biggest export market in the period.  

Also between January and October, Vietnam spent nearly US$1.9 billion importing wood and woodwork products, translating into a trade surplus of over US$5.35 billion, an annual increase of nearly US$1 billion.

Trade surplus of timber goods was ranked second among key Vietnamese agricultural exports during the period, only behind that of aquatic products, which recorded over US$5.8 billion.   

In October alone, export value of wood and wood products stood at US$845.4 million, up 25.3% year-on-year, with the US alone accounting for US$389 million, followed by Japan (US$104.45 million), China (US$115.14 million) and the Republic of Korea (US$86.53 million). All of them posted increases ranging from 10 to 40% compared to the same period last year.  

Nguyen Ton Quyen, General Secretary of the Association of Vietnam Timber and Forest Product, said the last three months of a year are always the peak time for forestry exports. 

He unveiled that almost all enterprises in the sector have now secured enough export orders for the rest of the year, mostly from the US, EU, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China.