Wood sector surpasses export target despite COVID-19

Hanoi – Despite two official scenarios predicting wood and wooden products exports to rake in less than 14.5 billion USD this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's export revenue is now estimated at 14.72 billion USD.

The sector began recovering its production in October and saw its overseas shipments reeling in 1.27 billion USD in November alone, up 2.5 percent on-year, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade.

Notably, statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that between January and November, Vietnam exported 7.93 billion USD worth of wood and wooden products to the US, an annual growth of 24.6 percent. The sector's shipments to China and Japan during the period earned 1.36 billion USD and 1.28 USD, increasing 26.6 percent and 11.2 percent against 2020, respectively.

The strong recovery was thanks to prompt support and directions from the Government and competent agencies, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as efforts made by firms operating in the sector and increasing demand from the international market.

Vietnam is currently the world's second biggest exporter of timber and wooden products. The wood sector groups more than 560 businesses, generating nearly 1 million jobs.