Forestry exports rise nearly 18 percent in four months

Key markets for Vietnamese forestry products include the US, Japan, the EU, China and the Republic of Korea, which together consume 87 percent of the products, it said.



Vietnam imported 210 million USD worth of wood and furniture in April and 790 million USD in the first four months of 2019, up about 15.1 percent year on year.



As many as 60 percent of imported timber and furniture were from China, the US, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Chile, Germany, New Zealand and France.



The administration said that from April 1-18, 682 forestry law violation cases were detected, a drop of 458 cases, or 40 percent, compared to April of 2018.  About 66 hectares of forest were damaged, of which 48 hectares were chopped down and 18 burnt.



From the beginning of this year, 3,151 violation cases have been uncovered, 25 percent lower than the same period last year, damaging 192 hectares of forest, down 58 hectares year on year.



Meanwhile, as of April 18, 13.7 million young trees have been planted. It is estimated that 46,000 hectares of new forest areas will be planted in the first four months, reaching 21 percent of the yearly target.



In April, about 23,100 hectares of forest are likely to be exploited with output of 1.63 million cubic metres, pushing total production in four months to about 6.23 million cubic metres, up 4.4 percent year on year.



In the period, the country collected 755.24 billion VND (32.47 million USD) in forest environment service fees, 23.6 percent of the yearly target.