Deepening Cooperation in Vietnam's Timber Trade: Vietnam Strengthens Supply Chain Transparency and Focuses on High-Value-Added Product Exports

Source: Vietnam News Agency

It is necessary to strengthen the import of raw timber materials from the United States, process them into high value-added furniture, and then re-export them to the United States and other markets. At the same time, industry associations and enterprises will enhance the transparency of Vietnam's timber and wood products in the supply chain through deeper international cooperation. This was emphasized by the timber industry associations and enterprises at the Vietnam-US Timber and Wood Products Business Seminar held on June 24th.

Tran Quang Bao, Director General of the Forestry and Forest Product Processing Department, said at the meeting that the industry is cooperating with relevant departments to issue new announcements on enterprise classification, forest product traceability, and geographical zoning as soon as possible, which are expected to be promulgated this month.

As a professional national management agency, the department is willing to work with industry associations and enterprises to prove to international partners that, although it is a tropical country, Vietnam has completely closed its natural forests, export products do not use natural forest timber, and the supply chain and legal system are completely transparent. The Vietnamese timber industry has signed and fulfilled its commitments with major markets and has developed specific action plans.

According to Vu Thi Huai, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (VIFOREST), in 2024, Vietnam's exports of timber and wood products to the US reached US\$9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 24%. The US is currently the **market**, accounting for 55% of Vietnam's total exports, followed by China (12%), Japan (11%), South Korea (5%), and the EU (4%). Major export products include wooden furniture, wooden flooring, wooden doors, and wooden handicrafts.

Meanwhile, in 2024, Vietnam imported US\$316.36 million worth of timber and wood products from the US, a year-on-year increase of 32.9%, accounting for 11.2% of the country's total timber imports. The main imported items are sawn timber, logs, and veneer 。

Vu Thi Huai added that Vietnam is emerging as one of the important timber suppliers to the US, and is also a major consumer of US timber. Both sides strictly abide by the Lacey Act and other timber trade regulations. Vietnam has made great efforts to eliminate concerns about the legality and sustainability of timber.

Vietnam-US timber trade not only creates enormous economic value but also provides US consumers with high-quality, low-cost, and compliant product choices. Su Xuanfu, Director of the Forestry Trade Policy Program at Forest Trends, said that there are still three major misconceptions about the Vietnamese timber industry in the international community: firstly, it is mistakenly believed that Vietnam imports high-risk timber and processes it for export to major markets, but in fact, imports mainly serve domestic demand and have decreased significantly in recent years; secondly, Vietnam is regarded as a transit point for Chinese timber, but the actual annual import volume is only about US\$1 billion, and the risks may be concentrated in panels and furniture (about US\$2-3 billion worth of products); thirdly, it is believed that industry expansion harms Vietnam's forest resources, but in fact, Vietnam has completely banned logging of natural forests, and export products all come from planted forests, rubber forests, and legally imported timber.

Su Xuanfu suggested that relevant units should provide information to let people understand the extremely important role the timber industry plays in reducing risks and expanding markets. Management departments and industry associations should proactively contact and provide information, strengthen dialogue and information exchange with export markets and environmental organizations, and directly serve as members of international associations.

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