On the afternoon of December 30th, the Binh Dinh Wood and Forest Products Association held the Commemoration Ceremony for the Ancestors of the Woodworking Profession in the Year of the Tiger and the Conference summarizing the year 2022.
Reporting at the conference, Mr. Le Minh Thien – Chairman of the Binh Dinh Wood and Forest Products Association – stated that 2022 began with many favorable signs as the country had basically controlled the Covid-19 pandemic. The wood industry business community has accelerated investment in developing new factories and increasing processing capacity to anticipate orders shifting from countries applying the "Zero Covid-19" strategy such as China, and the wave of "revenge shopping" due to pent-up consumer demand throughout the pandemic years.
In the first six months of 2022, the export value of Binh Dinh's wood industry increased by 221% compared to the same period in 2021. However, since April 2022, there has been a delay in orders; from June and July 2022, some orders were postponed or canceled; and the amount of inventory in the EU and US markets, as well as in the warehouses of many businesses in the province, is very large. Some new factories with large capacities have had to operate at reduced capacity or temporarily suspend production due to a sharp decrease in orders for the 2022-2023 season.
Despite the unprecedented instability and challenges of the market situation and orders, Binh Dinh's wood industry maintained a relatively high growth rate. The export value for the whole year of 2022 reached approximately US$947.75 million, an increase of 71% compared to 2021, accounting for about 61% of the total export value of Binh Dinh province. Regarding the export product structure, indoor, outdoor, and garden furniture reached US$476.35 million (an increase of 11%); other wood products (wood chips, pellets, etc.) reached US$308.1 million (an increase of 45%); and products made from woven plastic and imitation rattan reached US$163.3 million (a decrease of 20%.
In 2022, wood import turnover reached US$56.5 million, a decrease of nearly 31% compared to 2021. At the same time, the wood industry and its supporting industries have provided direct and regular employment for approximately 30,000 local workers, contributing nearly US$16 billion to Vietnam's overall wood export performance and maintaining Binh Dinh's position as one of the four main centers for processing and exporting wood products in the country.
To achieve these results, the Binh Dinh Wood and Forest Products Association has collaborated with the Vietnam Wood and Forest Products Association (VIFOREST) and other wood industry associations and partner associations in the province to closely monitor the actual situation of the domestic and international markets, and the market movements after the Covid-19 pandemic. This has enabled them to provide analyses, assessments, forecasts, development orientations, and recommendations for members in the wood industry nationwide in general and the Binh Dinh wood industry in particular.
In addition, the association promptly submitted recommendations to ministries, departments, provincial People's Committees, and relevant agencies regarding solutions to address difficulties and obstacles faced by its members, such as: reducing interest rates, restructuring repayment terms, social insurance, electricity, and fire safety; coordinating with VIFORES and other associations in resolving cases such as: lawsuits against tax evasion related to trade defense measures on plywood and wooden cabinets; cooperating with domestic and international organizations to conduct workshops on trade promotion, policy development for the wood industry, and training to enhance knowledge and skills for middle-level managers at factories…
These results serve as a foundation and motivation for the Binh Dinh wood industry to continue its determination and efforts in overcoming difficulties and challenges to achieve new goals in the Year of the Rabbit 2023.
The Binh Dinh Wood and Forest Products Association has identified 2023 as an extremely difficult year in terms of orders and export markets. Most foreign customers still have large inventories or are shifting to risk diversification strategies, ordering new designs for multiple product lines and codes from various manufacturers. Meanwhile, major markets such as the US and EU are still heavily impacted by inflation, high interest rates, and tight monetary policies, forcing consumers to tighten their belts when spending on wood products. Simultaneously, global market fluctuations are also creating difficulties in the domestic business environment, such as rising interest rates, volatile raw material and input material prices, and worker insecurity.
However, the Association remains determined to minimize the negative impacts of the decline in orders and markets, striving to achieve export turnover approximately equal to or exceeding that of 2022, reaching around one billion USD, contributing to the fulfillment of the industrial production value and export turnover targets for the entire province as well as the wood industry nationwide in 2023.
To concretize this goal, the Binh Dinh wood industry business community continues to focus on a strategy of diversifying markets and customers, restructuring all business operations according to the motto "self-reliance and cost-saving," from improving and innovating production technology to finding and selecting customers and orders that match the capacity and production and business conditions of each member, focusing on high value-added product groups.
Accordingly, the Association encourages its members to invest in planting large timber forests, forming raw material areas with sustainable forest management certification; to invest in developing deep processing plants for wood chips such as chipboard, MDF, and laminated wood; to strengthen the export market for the woven plastics industry; and to support the harmonious development of the wood chip and pellet industries, avoiding unhealthy competition for raw materials from planted forests used in production.
Regarding trade promotion, the Association focuses on coordinating with Vietnam Wood Industry Fair Joint Stock Company (VIFOREST FAIR) to prepare and promote the organization of the International Exhibition of Indoor, Outdoor and Garden Furniture in Binh Dinh in 2024; participating in international exhibitions of furniture and products and services serving the domestic wood industry such as HawaExpo 2023, BifaWood 2023, DowaMachinery 2023; continuing to promote the "Binh Dinh Furniture" brand for outdoor and indoor furniture through solutions to increase market share in the US, EU 27, UK, Australia, Canada, etc.; coordinating the implementation of projects and organizing seminars and forums on wood trade with international organizations such as FOREST TRENDS, GIZ, SIPPO, TRAFFIC, WWF…
Speaking at the conference, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Thanh – Standing Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Binh Dinh province – highly appreciated the achievements of the Binh Dinh Wood and Forestry Products Association over the past year, and affirmed that the provincial leadership is always ready to support the Association as well as businesses operating in the wood and forestry products sector. Mr. Nguyen Tuan Thanh stated that the province will direct relevant units to create favorable conditions for wood businesses to overcome difficulties during this period.
Mr. Do Quang Tung, Head of the Forestry Projects Management Board under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, also emphasized that the Forestry Projects Management Board of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development always accompanies the Wood Association in general and the Binh Dinh Wood and Forest Products Association in particular in connecting with industry projects and seeking ODA investors for the wood and forest products industry.
Nguyen Tien Dung (DALN)
