Holding onto the export market: The timber industry faces difficulties due to the Middle East conflict

Source: congthuong.vn Dependence on the market and risks from the Middle East For 10 - 15 consecutive years, Vietnam's wood industry maintained an average export growth rate of 10 - 18% per year. However, last year there were clear signs of a slowdown. The total export turnover of timber and forest products reached approximately 17.2 billion USD, of which timber products accounted for about 16 billion USD and non-timber forest products about 1 billion USD, with a growth rate of only 5.7%, significantly lower than the expected rate of over 10%. The biggest bottleneck remains the excessive dependence on the U.S. market. Last year alone, exports of wood and furniture to the U.S. reached 9.5 billion USD out of a total turnover of 11 billion USD for this group of products. Among the 35 countries exporting wood to the U.S., Vietnam accounts for 46 - 47% of the market share. At the Forum on "Enhancing Competitiveness for Key Export Items" held in early February, Mr. Ngo Sy Hoai - Vice ...