Previously, under the background of rapid expansion of the global market, Vietnam's timber industry maintained a double-digit export growth rate with high production capacity and high cost performance. However, under the blow of the epidemic and global inflation, the weakness of Vietnam's timber industry has also been exposed this year: most companies only focus on manufacturing, and lack of attention to trade promotion.
To promote the sustainable development of local timber enterprises, Vietnam is planning to strengthen cooperation between enterprises and associations with ministries, central agencies and localities to organize world-class fairs and exhibitions in Vietnam to enhance the status of the industry.
It is reported that with the help of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Canadian companies have a better understanding of Vietnam's production capabilities. In March, a direct route for large container ships from Haiphong to Vancouver was launched between the two countries, reducing the transit time to 17 days while reducing shipping costs for Vietnamese exporters.
Even though Vietnam accounted for just 15 percent of Canada's imports last year, it remained the country's fourth-largest supplier of wooden furniture, according to Vietnam Customs. The Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association assessed that there are still plenty of opportunities for Vietnamese wood furniture to expand its market share in Canada. The Vietnam Trade Office in Canada also stated that it will focus on a series of important trade promotion activities in the future.
The Canadian market is only one of Vietnam's goals. From a long-term perspective, it is necessary for Vietnam to improve its product development and market research capabilities. Compared with wood processing products on the assembly line, building a national brand of Vietnamese wood and forestry products is the direction of sustainable development of Vietnam's wood industry. “Looking forward to future openings of Vietnam pavilions at international and reputable events in key and potential markets such as China, US, EU, Russia, Japan, Republic of Korea, etc.”
Although China and Vietnam have maintained good timber trade cooperation, it is expected that products from Vietnam will increase competition pressure on China in the future global market. However, for Chinese timber merchants, the current focus is still on the domestic market, and the situation may change after waiting for demand to recover.