According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of Vietnam, in March 2023, the export value of timber and wood products reached US$1.2 billion, a month-on-month increase of 36.3% and a year-on-year decrease of 22.8%. Among them, the export value of wood products reached about 823 million US dollars, a month-on-month increase of 47.7%; a year-on-year decrease of 30%.
In the first three months of this year, the export value of wood and wood products reached 2.88 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 28.3%, of which the export value of wood and wood products reached about 1.87 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 38.5%.
Analysts believe that in 2023, due to the low demand in the US and EU markets, the outlook for the wood and wood products industry is still relatively sluggish. However, in 2024, timber and wood products production companies will recover based on the decline in home loan interest rates and the improvement of supply sources in the United States (the largest export market for Vietnam's timber and wood products).
In 2022, the United States and China are the main export markets for Vietnam's wood and wood products. In 2022, 80% of Vietnam's exports to China will come from raw wood (coded as HS 44), with a total of more than 20 products, mainly wood chips. At present, enterprises that export wood chips to China are mainly small and unlisted companies.
Nguyen Quoc Thanh, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Wood Processing and Handicrafts Association and Chairman of AA Construction and Construction Joint Stock Company, believes that there is still no correct forecast for wooden furniture orders, but there is still a lot of room for this market. The world wood and wood products market size can reach 200 billion US dollars.
Although Vietnam ranks among the top five wooden furniture exporting countries in the world, its average annual export volume is only over US$16 billion. In addition, recently, Vietnam mainly exports to traditional markets such as the United States, the European Union, South Korea and Japan, and other potential markets have not yet been explored.