HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam and the EU last week reached important agreements during their fifth round of negotiations on the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan, the talks on January 21 and 22 focused on putting in place a management system to ensure the legality of Vietnamese timber, especially the legal origin of imported wood.

The VPA on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade aims to ensure that all Vietnamese wood products exported to EU countries are of legal origin.

Once in effect, the agreement is expected to boost Viet Nam's wood processing and export industry, allowing for sustainable growth and market expansion.

In a joint announcement released after the meeting, the two sides highlighted that efforts will be made to conclude the negotiations by the end of 2016.

The result of the fifth round of talks is important to the free trade agreement between Viet Nam and the EU, particularly in terms of protecting the environment and bio-diversity.

The EU, which makes up about one-fourth of world consumption, is now the fourth largest importer of Viet Nam's timber and wood products, after the US, Japan and China.

In the first eight months of 2015, Viet Nam's timber and wood product exports to the EU brought in VND9,900,800 million, while its timber imports from the bloc was VND2,486,400 million.