On August 9, 2024, in Thu Dau Mot City, Binh Duong Province, the Forestry Department, in coordination with the Forest Protection Department and the Vietnam Wood and Forest Products Association, and relevant departments and agencies of Binh Duong Province, organized the Quarterly Meeting on Wood and Forest Products Processing and Export for the third quarter of 2024. Attendees included representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Forestry Department, Forest Protection Department, International Cooperation Department, etc.); the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Import-Export Department, Trade Remedies Department); the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Taxation, General Department of Customs); relevant departments and agencies of Binh Duong Province; and wood and forest products processing associations and businesses. Leaders from the Forestry Department, Forest Protection Department, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Duong Province, and the Vietnam Wood and Forest Products Association co-chaired the meeting.
The conference reviewed the production, business, and import-export activities of the wood processing and forestry products industry during the first seven months of 2024, and identified key tasks and solutions for the remaining months of 2024, aiming to achieve the export value of wood and forestry products in 2024 of 15.2 billion USD, of which wood and wood products account for over 14.2 billion USD.
After hearing the comprehensive report on the import and export situation of wood and forest products in the first seven months of the year, the key tasks and solutions for the remaining months of 2024 presented by the Forestry Department, the reports and discussions of the Vietnam Wood and Forest Products Association, and the opinions and discussions of delegates, the conference unanimously agreed on the assessment of the export situation of wood and forest products in the first seven months of 2024. Accordingly, the export situation has shown signs of recovery, reaching 9.36 billion USD, equivalent to 61.51% of the annual plan, an increase of 20.5% compared to the same period in 2023.
At the same time, it was also noted that in the last months of 2024, due to the complex and unpredictable geopolitical competition between major countries; the increasing trend of trade fraud and falsification of product origin; the complicated trade competition; the high increase in sea freight rates; and the slow processing of value-added tax refunds for businesses, achieving the export target of 15.2 billion USD this year will still be difficult without determined efforts to overcome these challenges.
Based on the positive results of the first seven months of 2024, the conference identified three key tasks and six priority solutions for the wood processing and forestry products industry to focus on implementing in the remaining months of 2024, including:
Regarding tasks: Firstly, continue to improve and effectively implement the policies already issued, attracting economic sectors to participate in the development of planted forests, wood processing, and forest products. Secondly, do a good job of propaganda, organize trade fairs and exhibitions, and promote investment to advertise and introduce products, and seek and expand markets for wood and forest products. Thirdly, closely monitor and promptly identify difficulties and shortcomings caused by mechanisms and policies to resolve them for wood and forest product processing and export businesses.
The main solutions include: Firstly, completing and submitting to competent authorities for promulgation legal documents related to mechanisms and policies to ensure the legality of timber. Secondly, regularly monitoring, compiling, and collecting timely information on the situation of timber processing and the market for forest products both domestically and internationally, providing this information to timber processing, export, and import businesses to proactively develop effective production and business plans. Thirdly, supporting businesses in improving their capacity to proactively respond to and resolve trade competition cases, minimizing the negative impacts caused by lawsuits. Fourthly, supporting timber businesses in obtaining value-added tax refunds quickly and promptly. Fifthly, continuing to prevent trade fraud by some export businesses; Closely monitor and develop operational scenarios for the import and export of timber and forest products to ensure the achievement of the 2024 timber and forest product export plan targets. Expand successful linkage models between wood processing enterprises and forest-planting households to ensure the legal origin of domestic timber, increase added value, and reduce production costs, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese timber and wood products. Sixth, effectively organize briefing conferences, investment promotion conferences, and trade fairs and exhibitions to introduce timber products in order to maintain and develop traditional forest product export markets, expand exports to new potential markets such as the Middle East, India, South America, etc., while also focusing on developing the domestic market.
(According to the Forest Products Processing and Trade Department – Forestry Department)
