Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has stressed the need to keep forestry production growth at 5-5.5% each year in the 2021-2025 period and to continue to maintain such growth to 2030.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung addresses the ceremony

Addressing a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of Vietnam’s forestry sector in Vinh city, the capital of the north-central province of Nghe An, on December 1, the Deputy PM noted that the draft national forestry development strategy for the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050 determined that forests are a resource and a significant production material.

Export revenue from forestry products is expected to reach US$18-20 billion in 2025 and US$23-25 billion in 2030.

By 2025, the ratio of ethnic minority households living in forest-covered areas and engaging in forestry production is to increase to 50% and 80% by 2030, he said.

He asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to coordinate with relevant agencies to complete policies and mechanisms relating to forestry, with the strict implementation of the policy on closing access to forests and improving forest quality, to protect the environment and reduce natural disasters and the impact of climate change.

The ministry was requested to exhibit stronger performance in managing, protecting, and sustainably using forest land, while offering proposals on measures to plan for the planting of 1 billion trees over the next five years.

Forest coverage increased 14.7% in the 1990-2020 period, equivalent to 5.6 million ha. The country now has more than 600,000 ha of large wooded forest and more than 200,000 ha of standardised production forest.

Between 1999 and 2009, forestry production rose 2.85% each year, which increased to 5.86% a year in the 2010-2020 period.

Over the past 75 years, the forestry sector has been moving towards intensive and extensive international integration.

It earned US$11.3 billion from exports last year. The figure is expected to reach US$13 billion in 2020 making up 2.3% of total export value and more than 26% of total agro-forestry-fisheries export value. Vietnam has become the fifth-largest forestry product exporter in the world, the second in Asia, and the largest in Southeast Asia. Vietnamese wooden furniture is now found in more than 120 countries and territories worldwide.

Vietnam currently has more than 5,500 wood and forestry product processing facilities.

In the 2011-2019 period, the sector paid nearly VND2 trillion in forestry environmental service fees. The forest area has been expanded over the years and coverage is likely to reach 42% in 2020.

Vietnam has completely closed off access to 10.3 million ha of natural forest area, while strictly controlling changes to forest use purpose, creating a system of more than 2.2 million ha of special-use forest and more than 4.6 million ha of protective forest.

Forestry production employs some 20 million workers.

In the future, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong suggested the forestry sector should review the national forestry plan and strategy and apply measures to maintain forest coverage at 42%.

The sector should improve the quality of planted forest area by 20% by 2025 and 40% by 2030, while ensuring material sources of 40 million cu.m in 2025 and 50 million cu.m in 2030, he added.