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Wooden exports down US$200 million
Exports of wooded products in the first four months of this year were worth US$700 million, US$200 million less than the same period last year.
Nguyen Ton Quyen, general secretary of the Vietnamese Wood and Forest Products Association, said that most of the goods exported in the first four months were ordered at the end of last year and that few new contracts had been signed.
The second quarter’s exports would also be decline.
The US and Japan were the largest importers of Vietnamese wood products, but now demand in those markets has declined markedly, he said. As a result, chief export market for Vietnamese wood products was the EU.
On the up side, new export markets have opened up in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Quyen said that he did not expect any new export markets to open up for a while as it would take time to study market demands.
Strict regulations imposed by the US and the EU on imported wooden products were also an obstacle to exporters. Exporters were turning to the domestic market to sell their goods.
Tran Duc Thuan, director of Hung Long Company, said the local demand for wooden products was high. According to a research conducted by Hung Long in seven cities and provinces, each of 210 households questioned had spent on average VND 3-5 million (US$176-294) a year on wooden products for their home. All the households had said they wanted to buy more furniture, such as beds, chairs and tables.
However, high prices and unpopular designs means suppliers are finding it difficult to meet domestic demands.
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