Vietnam becomes second largest woodwork exporter
Vietnam becomes second largest woodwork exporter
Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, in 2020, Vietnam surpassed Poland, Germany and Italy to become the world’s second biggest wood and woodwork exporter, after China.
An employee works at a woodwork processing facility. In 2020, Vietnam surpassed Poland, Germany and Italy to become the world’s second biggest wood and woodwork exporter, after China – PHOTO: MINH DUY
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Vietnam’s forestry export revenue amounted to US$13.2 billion in 2020, up 16.4% against 2019, Nguyen Chanh Phuong, vice chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCMC (HAWA), announced at a ceremony to launch the Vietnam Furniture Matching Week on March 17.
This was the only sector in Vietnam to achieve strong growth for many consecutive years. Between January and February this year, Vietnam exported wood and woodwork worth US$2.4 billion, up 50% year-on-year.
The growth resulted from the order shift of many customers from some countries which have been hit hard by the coronavirus. Besides, many firms said that the Sino-U.S. trade tension hindered China’s woodwork exports to the United States.
Local woodwork players have secured many orders for wood and woodwork from U.S. customers.
“Due to the ongoing health crisis, to overcome the hardship and develop the sector, local wood firms should use new technology, speed up digital transformation and diversify their methods to access customers,” said Phuong.
Echoing the view, Duong Thi Minh Tue, a member of the Standing Committee of HAWA, said that to maintain the position, retaining customers and tapping more import markets should be taken into account.
In March and April each year, a large number of orders are often placed by international buyers at multiple big fairs in Asia.
However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, these annual events will not take place, so firms should optimize online channels and ecommerce platforms to attract customers.
The Vietnam Furniture Matching Week is set to take place from April 12 to 19 with the aim of digitalizing exhibition, fair and trade activities, said Tue.
The event will feature the Furniture Sourcing Day in HCMC on April 14, which will attract the participation of over 300 local and international manufacturers and partners such as Kingfisher, IKEA, Ashley and Te Rite.
The Vietnam Furniture Matching Week will access global furniture importers though some online programs on the online platform, hopefairs.com.
The Online Exhibition and Online B2B Matching will introduce over 100 Vietnamese producers with some 10,000 products.
As the world’s second largest furniture exporter, Vietnam is one of the first destinations for international woodwork buyers, Phuong said.
