A new milestone for the Vietnamese export of forestry products
According to the General Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the value of forest product export in May reached 959 million USD, bringing its total export turnover in the first 5 months of 2019 to nearly 4.258 billion USD, up by nearly 20% compared to the same period in 2018. More specifically, wood and wood products export value is estimated at over US $ 4 billion, up by 18.7%; rattan, bamboo products and bamboos reach US $191 million, up by 43%.
Meanwhile, the total import turnover of wood and wood products in the first 5 months reached 1 billion USD, an increase of about 16% compared to the same period in 2018. This resulted in a surplus of 3.241 billion USD in Vietnam forestry trade with other countries.
The current forestry product export markets of Vietnam include the United States, Japan, EU, China and South Korea, which account for about 87% of the total export turnover of forest products for Vietnam.
On June 1st, 2019, the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Forest Governance and Forest Trade (VPA / FLEGT) officially takes effect. The VPA / FLEGT Agreement is a demonstration of Vietnam’s and EU’s commitment to promoting the implementation of the “Trade and Sustainable Development” Program of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement.
To promote the forest product trade to the EU as well as other markets, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has established the Vietnam Forest Certification Office (VFCS) to act as a focal point to cooperate with multiple forest certification organizations and international agencies. The mentioned organizations involve in operating the national forest certification system; implementing forest certification activities in Vietnam; building and developing the brand name of Vietnam forest certificate on domestic and international markets; and at the same time organizing the inspection and supervision of forest certification of the national system.
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