Robust signs since the outset of the year have made the timber and forestry sector confident of gaining 11 billion USD in export revenue in 2019, beating the target of 10.5 billion USD.

(Photo: vneconomy.vn) 

Director General of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry Nguyen Quoc Tri said on October 29 that the export value of forestry products has risen 18.8 percent year on year to over 9 billion USD.

For the first time the sector won a contract worth more than 1 billion USD in October, he said, adding that foreign countries have high demand for interior and exterior wooden products towards the end of the year.

Vietnamese forestry products are present in over 120 countries and territories, with key markets including the US, Japan, China, the EU and the Republic of Korea. Export revenue to those countries is estimated at 7.81 billion USD, accounting for 86.6 percent of the sector’s total.

Regarding wood materials for processing, Tri said about 16.55 million cubic metres of wood were exploited from planted forests from January-October, accounting for 85 percent of the yearly plan, and up nearly 7 percent from the same time last year.

The materials met some 75 percent of the forestry processing sector’s demand, he added.

Also in the period, the country planted over 175,500 hectares of forest land, making up 82.7 percent of the target for the whole year. However, the work was only equivalent to 98.8 percent of the amount recorded in 2018 due to prolonged drought.

This year, the sector has been entrusted to raise forest coverage to 41.85 percent.