Trade of wood products between Vietnam and China has been continuously expanded from 2018 to 2021. (Illustrative image)   

NDO – Vietnamese wood enterprises are facing competition from Chinese enterprises right in the Vietnamese market, particularly the competition for veneer, requiring new policies to improve the competitiveness for Vietnamese enterprises.

The information was discussed at the seminar titled “Vietnam - China timber trade: Opportunities, challenges and development of sustainable Vietnamese timber industry into the future” which was held by the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association and Forest Trends.

Trade of wood products between Vietnam and China has been continuously expanded from 2018 to 2021, according to Forest Trends. China is one of the three most important export markets of Vietnam after the US and Japan.

Vietnam’s revenue from wood exports to China increased from over 1 billion USD in 2018 to over 1.2 billion USD in 2019 and 2020 and then decreased slightly in 2021.

To Xuan Phuc, an expert of Forest Trends, said that the two-way trade turnover of wood products between Vietnam and China is very large, with the current surplus leaning towards Vietnam. However, the size of the surplus is gradually shrinking. The export turnover of Vietnam's wood products to the Chinese market has shown signs of deceleration or even a slight decrease from 2020 until now, while the import turnover of Chinese wood products into Vietnam is increasing strongly.

If the import-export of wood between the two countries remains as at present, the trade balance will reach an equilibrium position in the near future, Phuc noted.

According to To Xuan Phuc, Vietnam's export products are mainly wood materials. Vietnamese enterprises are competing with Chinese enterprises right in the domestic market, with veneer being a typical example. Thus, new mechanisms and policies are needed to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises, Phuc added.