Recently, the Vietnamese government has put forward a new target for future timber exports: it is expected that by 2025, Vietnam's timber and wood products exports will reach 20 billion US dollars, an increase of 9 billion US dollars over the current export value. According to the latest data from the UN COMTRADE international trade database, the value of U.S. furniture imports will exceed $29 billion in 2021, an increase of 28% from last year’s $22.7 billion. Among them, China exported furniture worth US$9.117 billion to the United States, an increase of 24% from US$7.331 billion in 2020, ranking first; Vietnam’s furniture exports to the US reached US$9.1 billion, an increase of 23% from US$7.405 billion in 2020. , ranked second; the total value of Mexican furniture exports to the United States reached 1.919 billion US dollars, an increase of 61%, jumping to third.
Now, a plan recently approved by the Vietnamese government details how the country will massively upgrade and expand its wood processing industry by 2030. Specifically: invest heavily in technology to attract investment from wood processing companies; build an international furniture exhibition center; give priority to the production of furniture, outdoor products, and artificial wood products. The plan also shows that the state will restructure the timber industry, which will help reduce transportation costs while increasing the value of the product.
The Vietnamese government said its main markets are the United States, Japan, South Korea, Western Europe, and China, and it will encourage Vietnamese production companies to use the "Go Viet" trademark and learn to use e-commerce channels to sell their products. In the past two years, despite the major impact of the epidemic, local furniture factories in Vietnam have stopped production and workers have returned to their hometowns. Some companies are considering moving their factories out of Vietnam.
The rise of Vietnamese furniture exports has continued. According to the 2020 U.S. furniture import and export data, among furniture exports, China's exports to the United States have halved in three years, and Vietnam has become the biggest winner. Vietnam's export performance is so good, and it is not unrelated to the transfer of production capacity in China's furniture industry. It is reported that furniture companies from mainland China and Taiwan have or are setting up factories. Including Gujia Home Furnishing, Man Hua Holdings, Meike Home Furnishing, Yongyi Shares, Henglin Shares, A Home Furnishings, etc., have also acquired manufacturing companies or established production bases in Vietnam.
In addition, American companies such as Ashley are also accelerating their deployment in Vietnam. The CEO of Ashley Furniture even asserted that the trade truce is hopeless in the short term. While continuing to manufacture in the United States (accounting for 60% to 70% of Ashley's total output), he also paid special attention to investment in Vietnam.