From July until now, exports of Vietnam's wooden furniture have bumped into difficulties in many import markets when the number of orders dropped sharply because of increased inflation.
During the fourth quarter of every year most of the export companies in Vietnam find the need to step up pace in order to meet the increased demand in orders from major import markets such as the US and the European Union.
The Vietnam International Furniture & Fine Arts Export Fair (VIFA-EXPO 2022) with the theme of ‘Discovering the quintessence of Vietnamese furniture and handicrafts’ was opened this morning at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City.
In the first five months of the year, the Binh Duong wood industry had impressive performance when the export value of wood products was estimated at more than US$3 billion, up 3.2 percent over the same period, accounting for 19.1 percent of the provincial export turnover. However, with sharp fluctuations in petrol prices, foreign exchange rates, and general difficulties of the global economy, Binh Duong Furniture Association (BIFA) forecasts that in the last months of this year, the wood industry will face great challenges.
In the first four months of this year, export turnover to the US market had continuously seen sharp increases, maintaining the growth of over 20 percent over the same period. This is not beyond the expectation of enterprises. Besides the advantages that Vietnamese enterprises have got in their hands, the commercial counselor of the Vietnam Trade Office in the US also warned that this market is containing many great risks.
To limit the depletion of natural resources, environmental pollution, and the amount of generated waste, many countries around the world have introduced several trade barriers in order to realize a circular economy. Of which, many countries are currently the main export markets of Vietnam. This has forced Vietnamese enterprises to change to adapt and maintain export market share.
The Handicraft and Wood Industry Association (HAWA) of Ho Chi Minh City said it plans several measures to add value to Vietnam’s handicrafts and wood products, help its members further penetrate the global supply chain and enable Vietnam to become a leading producer and exporter of quality, branded and reputed furniture and forestry products.
Despite the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, in the first four months of this year, wood exports still achieved US$3.2 billion, an increase of 6 percent over the same period last year.
Statistics by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed that only 7 percent of wood processing enterprises are still operating normally whereas 90 percent of them have had to temporarily halt operations or rotate part of workers' assigned jobs, creating a fracture in the whole chain.
The widespread Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a serious disruption of the supply chains. Besides difficulties in the source of raw materials and export, Vietnam’s wood industry also faces double trouble – the possibility of being imposed anti-dumping tariffs on wood products exported to the US and South Korea.
The Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam recently received information that the US Department of Commerce was requested to launch an anti-dumping and countervailing investigation on certain hardwood plywood products imports from Vietnam by the Coalition for Fair Trade of Hardwood Plywood.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam is the fifth largest wooden furniture supplier for Germany in the first seven months, reaching US$86.2 million, an increase of 8.4 percent over the same period last year.