Binh Duong, Dong Nai expect higher growth in wood exports with CPTPP

The province has around 1,215 wood processing businesses, with 905 of them domestic firms with 10.8 trillion VND (469.6 million USD) of registered capital, and 310 foreign companies with a total of 2.3 billion USD, according to Binh Duong’s Department of Industry and Trade.



More than 250,000 employees work in the industry, and of that number, 40-45 percent of them are seasonal.



Last year, total export turnover from forestry and wood products in Vietnam was over 9.3 billion USD. The industry had the highest surplus export value in Binh Duong province.



Phan Van Binh, Chairman of the Dong Nai Wood and Craft Association, said the province’s wood exports at the beginning of 2019 were 10 percent higher than the same period last year.



Exports for this year are expected to be 12-15 percent higher than 2018, which was nearly 1.4 billion USD.



Many businesses in the industry have been successful in finding partners and forming contracts for the year, he added.



Dien Quang Hiep, Chairman of the Binh Duong Furniture Association, said the CPTPP has opened up new markets and opportunities for Vietnam’s wood industry.



The partnership can reduce the industry’s reliance on markets such as the US and Europe, and help businesses further penetrate markets such as Japan and Canada.



However, experts have said that businesses need to work on improving their workforce, and thus productivity and product quality.



More high quality materials (rubber wood and acacia wood) are needed for production as well as raw material exports. Trade facilitation also needs to be improved.



Vietnam’s forestry exports in the first four months of the year totalled 3.28 billion USD, 17.8 percent higher than in 2018.



The industry’s main markets are the US, Japan, the EU, China and the Republic of Korea.-VNA