Wood processors: Export prospect bright
Many wood processing companies have expressed optimism that exports of wooden goods this year will be much higher than last year.
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Speaking at the Vietnam International Furniture and Home Accessories Fair (VIFA EXPO) 2017, which opened on March 8, Nguyen Sy Hoe, deputy general director of Phu Tai Joint Stock Co (JSC), forecast his company’s export turnover could grow 20% against 2016.
Around 90% of the enterprise’s wooden products would go to the U.S. and the European Union, and the remainder to Japan, Brazil and the Middle East, he said.
He added his firm had received orders which would keep its workers busy until next June or July. To meet growing demand, the company has been developing a wood processing plant in Binh Dinh Province with total capital of around VND140 billion to expand its capacity by 20%.
David Tai, deputy general director of Lam Hiep Hung JSC, said his firm has mainly exported to the European, American and Australian markets. The company’s export volume this year is expected to double last year, and the U.S. is a major market.
A&M Flooring Co Ltd also projected the company’s export sales would rise 10% to 15% year-on-year. The majority of its products are shipped to Japan (around 70%), the Republic of Korea, and Europe.
Shipments of wooden products are predicted to go up this year as a number of free trade agreements to which Vietnam is a signatory would give new momentum to wood export growth, said Huynh Van Hanh, vice chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCMC (HAWA).
If Vietnamese firms meet a small fraction of the world’s demand for furniture, the wood processing sector could obtain US$8 billion in export revenue this year, he said.
The wooden furniture and handicraft industry has made significant headway in recent years. The export value of wooden products reached nearly US$7 billion, making the sector one of the top ten export earners, said Bui Huy Son, head of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Vietnam’s total export turnover amounted to US$176.63 billion last year.
Co-held by the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade, HAWA, and Lien Minh Wood Handicrafts Joint Stock Co, the four-day fair is taking place from March 8 to 11 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in HCMC’s District 7, featuring more than 1,500 booths of 313 domestic and international exhibitors, up 24% and 23% year-on-year respectively.
The event features 100 foreign brands, up 72% over last year. They come from countries and territories with large woodworking potential and supporting industries such as Singapore, the US, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Hong Kong, Ireland, the Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia and New Zealand.
