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Furniture makers scout for VN wood Dependence on imports for wood and other challenges facing furniture exporters were discussed at a seminar in HCM City. "Imports account for around 80 per cent of the total wood needed for the furniture industry," said Tran Quoc Manh, deputy chairman of the HCM City Handicrafts and Wood Industry Association, at the seminar organised by the Ministry of Trade and Vietnam Economic Times.
Vietnam is emerging as an important regional furniture exporter and targets exports in 2005 of US$1 billion. The figure for this year is expected to fall just short of the mark for a 67 per cent jump over 2003. It sells to more than 120 countries with Japan, the EU, Taiwan and US being the major markets: last year, sales to the EU reached $163 million, to Japan $138 million and the US $115 million. Wood is imported mainly from Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, southern African and South American countries, Russia, New Zealand and Australia
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sustainable
forests and poor forest management. Vietnamese companies rely on orders
for making furniture, making it difficult for them to work out a
long-term import plan, he said. Besides, purchase of wood requires a
large amount of money and the wood, once imported, needs to be stored
properly to ensure quality. Manh suggested setting up a wood importers’
club for co-ordinating the imports and called for State support in the
form of preferential loans and tariff exemptions. Than Trung Hieu,
deputy chairman of Viet Nam Wood and Forestry, wanted the Government to
tighten regulations on forests to prevent land use for speculative
purposes. A link between forest farmers, scientists, furniture producers
and the State should be formed to ensure effective forest growth and
exploitation, he said. Furniture producers should receive Government
support for studying overseas markets and even purchasing forests.
Participants at the seminar also wanted the State to co-ordinate with
industry associations to work out long-term plans for furniture export
promotion and focus on marketing trademarks, not just selling goods.
Training human resources for the wood-processing industry was another
topic on the agenda. Besides a shortage of both engineers and
technicians, training for those available fell short of standards.