Vietnam’s woodwork exports have been in no way affected by the report released by the UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency and Indonesia’s Telapak, which said that Vietnam uses illegal timber.

“Vietnamese woodwork exporters always obey all rules in producing and exporting products,” said Huynh Van Hanh, Deputy Chairman of the HCM City Fine Arts and Wood Processing Association.

 Hanh said that Vietnam’s woodwork industry is younger than Thailand’s, Indonesia’s and Malaysia’s, but it is always at the foremost in following the principles and rules set by the international community.

The figure on the website of the Forest Stewardship Council showed that by March 2008, Vietnam had 151 factories with FSC certificates, while Thailand had 8, Indonesia 59 and Malaysia 66.

Over the last two months, since EIA and Telapak released the report, accusing Vietnamese woodwork exporters of using illegal timber from Laos, clients have offered no negative responses to Vietnam-made products. Trade has been going on in a normal way, and exporters have not refused imports from Vietnam.

According to the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association, Vietnam exported $934mil worth of wooden products in the first four months of the year, an increase of 20% over the same period of last year.

Hanh said that Vietnam has to spend billions of dollars to import timber materials from all over the world, which meet 70% of the demand for materials. If enterprises use timber from domestic sources, they have to identify the origin of the products.

Hanh stressed that customs agencies always keep strict control over the timber imports and woodwork exports.

Analysts say that Vietnam’s woodwork industry has a lot of potential. Previously, China was the most redoubtable rival for the industry of Vietnam. It was always leading in woodwork exports to the US.

However, China-made products are being imposed high anti-dumping taxes in the US, and importers are now tending to seek suppliers that can offer cheaper products like Vietnam.

Sources also say that China now has the policy of slowing down the woodwork industry growth rate. As Chinese woodwork exporters are being imposed export tax, they tend to import woodworks from Vietnam with low prices, and then re-process them for re-export to other countries in order to cut expenses.

Woodwork exports from Vietnam to China have been increasing considerably in the last few years. In 2005, Vietnam exported $60mil worth of wooden products to the country, while the figures were $94mil in 2006 and $168.5mil in 2007.

The US, Japan and UK remain the biggest export markets for Vietnam, consuming 41%, 12.8% and 8.2% of Vietnam’s exports, respectively.

Vietnam expects to export $3bil worth of woodwork in 2008, and the goal proves to be within reach, paving the way for Vietnam to export $5bil worth of products by 2010.

Nevertheless, Vietnam’s woodwork industry is facing a lot of difficulties, not because of the EIA’s report, but of the lower purchasing power from main markets. Orders from the US have been decreasing due to the difficulties of the country’s economy.

Vietnam now has 1,600 operational woodwork processing companies, including 250 foreign invested enterprises.

TBKTVN

16:48' 21/05/2008 (GMT+7)

Source: english.vietnamnet.vn

Keywords: Woodwork exports still on rise despite libelous accusation, antidumping, anti-dumping, Woodwork, libelous accusation, foreign invested enterprises, vietnam, Vietnam’s woodwork industry, main markets, US, UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency, illegal timber, HCM City Fine Arts and Wood Processing Association