Importing wood from active geographical areas
Importing roundwood: Before 2023, Vietnam imported an average of over 1.1 million m3 of roundwood from countries in active geographical areas each year, with an average import turnover of about 280 million USD/year. In 2023, the import volume of this type of wood decreased to less than 1 million m3, with a turnover of about 252 million USD. In the first six months of 2024, Vietnam imported over 536,600 m3 of roundwood from active areas, with a turnover of nearly 150 million USD.
Importing sawnwood: Sawnwood imported from active markets tends to decrease in both volume and turnover. In the first six months of 2024, the volume and value of sawn timber imports reached 716,567 m3, with a turnover of over 266 million USD, equivalent to 52% and 53% respectively compared to the whole year of 2023.
Wood imports from geographical areas are not positive
Round timber imports: Round timber imports increased sharply in 2022 compared to previous years but decreased sharply in 2023. The volume and value of imports in 2023 were only half of those in 2022. The downward trend continued in the first six months of 2024, with the volume reaching 270,926 m3 and the import turnover reaching over 79.4 million USD, equivalent to only 40% and 39% respectively compared to the whole year of 2023.
Sawn timber imports: Similar to round timber imports, the volume and value of sawn timber imports from risky markets tended to decrease in 2023 compared to the previous year: Volume and value are equivalent to 66% of 2022. Import volume in the first 6 months of 2024 increased, reaching 353,612 m3, equivalent to over 149.6 million USD, equivalent to 62% in volume compared to the whole year of 2023.
Imported roundwood and sawnwood play a crucial role in the Vietnamese wood industry, with an annual import volume of 4-5 million m3. This import volume is from active and non-active sources (also known as risky sources). Some notable points in these import supply flows are as follows:
Imported wood from active sources is mainly used for export processing, in the form of final products; a part is used for domestic consumption. Imported wood from risky sources is mostly used for domestic consumption. About 60-70% of imports are from positive sources, the rest (30-40%) are from risk sources. From 2023, imports from both sources will decrease. This decrease is believed to be due to a decrease in demand for output products for these sources, including exports and domestic consumption.
There are currently no factors to confirm whether the decline in imports, including both positive and risk sources, is a sustainable trend in the future. Export demand depends directly on the main output markets, especially from the United States and the EU. There are currently many factors that are and will affect export demand in these markets, including macroeconomic control policies, especially loan interest rates and inflation control, exchange rates, upcoming US election results, geopolitical conflicts in Russia – Ukraine and the Middle East. Domestic demand for risky supply depends on the domestic economic situation, the policy of controlling imported risky wood and the potential of domestic raw wood supply available to replace this imported risky supply.
Although reduced, the amount of imported risky wood is still large and this continues to have negative impacts on the industry, especially the export stage. Reducing imported risky sources plays an important role, directly contributing to the sustainable development of the industry. Reducing this supply requires synchronous measures from both policy aspects and from enterprises and craft villages. A public procurement policy for wooden furniture that prioritizes products from positive sources and/or from domestic plantations directly contributes to shifting the supply of raw materials from risky sources to positive sources in the future.