The European Union is the fourth largest wood consumer of Vietnam after the US, Japan, and China; however, wood exports into the EU market still meet many risks.
According to Mr. Nguyen Ton Quyen, vice chairman cum general secretary of the Timber and Forest Product Association of Vietnam (VIFORES), wood and wood products exports from Vietnam to the EU reached US$703 million in 2014, and nearly touched $442 million in the first eight months of this year.
The EU is not only a wood products consumer but also a raw wood supplier of Vietnam. In the first eight months of this year, wood imports from the EU to Vietnam exceeded $111.2 million.
Mr. To Xuan Phuc, representative of Forest Trends, Vietnam’s wood export to the EU is facing concerns about legitimacy of raw material according to the EU’s regulations. In order to avert risks, the country should present tighter policies so as to ensure wood products exported from Vietnam into the EU are legitimate.
The VIFORES in association with the Ho Chi Minh City Handicraft and Wood Industry Association, Forest Products Association of Binh Dinh Province, and Forest Trends held a conference on wood trade between Vietnam and the EU on December 18 in Ha Noi City.
