There is a big potential for Vietnam's wood processing industry toexpand its share in both foreign and domestic markets, foreign and localexperts concur.
They were attending a seminar held on November 16 on the sidelines of the Vietnam Furniture and Home Furnishing Fair.
Vietnam's wood processing industry has enjoyed strong growth over thepast 10 years, with export value increasing at an average of 15.5percent a year.
The industry earned 4.6 billion USD from exports last year, a year-on-year increase of 17.9 percent.
The country is currently ranked first in Southeast Asia, second inAsia and sixth the world in terms of wood export turnover.
The world furniture demand could reach 300-400 billion USD a year inthe next 10 years, Heiko Woerner, Technical Advisor to theVietnamese-German Forestry Programme, said.
He addedthat Vietnam's furniture export now meets just two per cent of theworld demand. Therefore, Vietnamese firms have more room to boostexports.
Per capita consumption of furnitureproducts in the domestic market remained low compared to othercountries, so a great opportunity exists for wood processing firms toboost sales in the domestic market as well, he said.
However, the local wood industry faces several challenges, includingwood material shortage and poor design capability, he said.
Woerner said as much as 80 percent of wood material used in furnitureproduction in Vietnam was imported. The country spent 1.5 billion USD onimporting wood material last year.
Huynh Van Hanh,deputy chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HoChi Minh City (Hawa), said: "Most indoor and outdoor furniture iscurrently made of solid wood."
Hanh as well as otherdelegates at the seminar urged local wood processing firms to enhancethe use of veneer in their products to minimise the use of wood materialand conserve natural resources.
Veneer is a thinslice of wood cut or peeled from a log. It is adhered to another surfaceof substrate, which can be made from wood or other materials likestainless steel and aluminum.
The veneeringtechnology makes it possible to get 800sq.m of veneer from one cubicmetric of wood. By this way, firms can produce more products out of thesame lumber used to create one solid wood product.
If conserving natural resources is a priority, then furniture made of wood veneer would be a great choice, Hanh said.
"Composing veneer sheets of different geometries, wood species, etcwith one surface can result in a very special wood pattern or picture,"said Dieter Fink of German firm Applikatio.
Veneer award
The Vietnam-Germany Forestry Programme, in collaboration with theACIAR project and Hawa, has instituted the nation's first Veneer Award,it was announced at the seminar.
They said the award aims to promote veneer use and innovation in Vietnam's wood processing industry.
It also seeks to support the local wood processing industry inshifting from using solid wood to veneer in their production, helpingVietnam's furniture and interior design industry become morecompetitive.
The competition is open to all local designers who can present a practical solution that has not been submitted before.
The products submitted should use veneer as a main material - eitherfor accessories (gifts, lamps, toys, and decors) or furniture (desks,chairs, shelves and wardrobes).-VNA
They were attending a seminar held on November 16 on the sidelines of the Vietnam Furniture and Home Furnishing Fair.
Vietnam's wood processing industry has enjoyed strong growth over thepast 10 years, with export value increasing at an average of 15.5percent a year.
The industry earned 4.6 billion USD from exports last year, a year-on-year increase of 17.9 percent.
The country is currently ranked first in Southeast Asia, second inAsia and sixth the world in terms of wood export turnover.
The world furniture demand could reach 300-400 billion USD a year inthe next 10 years, Heiko Woerner, Technical Advisor to theVietnamese-German Forestry Programme, said.
He addedthat Vietnam's furniture export now meets just two per cent of theworld demand. Therefore, Vietnamese firms have more room to boostexports.
Per capita consumption of furnitureproducts in the domestic market remained low compared to othercountries, so a great opportunity exists for wood processing firms toboost sales in the domestic market as well, he said.
However, the local wood industry faces several challenges, includingwood material shortage and poor design capability, he said.
Woerner said as much as 80 percent of wood material used in furnitureproduction in Vietnam was imported. The country spent 1.5 billion USD onimporting wood material last year.
Huynh Van Hanh,deputy chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HoChi Minh City (Hawa), said: "Most indoor and outdoor furniture iscurrently made of solid wood."
Hanh as well as otherdelegates at the seminar urged local wood processing firms to enhancethe use of veneer in their products to minimise the use of wood materialand conserve natural resources.
Veneer is a thinslice of wood cut or peeled from a log. It is adhered to another surfaceof substrate, which can be made from wood or other materials likestainless steel and aluminum.
The veneeringtechnology makes it possible to get 800sq.m of veneer from one cubicmetric of wood. By this way, firms can produce more products out of thesame lumber used to create one solid wood product.
If conserving natural resources is a priority, then furniture made of wood veneer would be a great choice, Hanh said.
"Composing veneer sheets of different geometries, wood species, etcwith one surface can result in a very special wood pattern or picture,"said Dieter Fink of German firm Applikatio.
Veneer award
The Vietnam-Germany Forestry Programme, in collaboration with theACIAR project and Hawa, has instituted the nation's first Veneer Award,it was announced at the seminar.
They said the award aims to promote veneer use and innovation in Vietnam's wood processing industry.
It also seeks to support the local wood processing industry inshifting from using solid wood to veneer in their production, helpingVietnam's furniture and interior design industry become morecompetitive.
The competition is open to all local designers who can present a practical solution that has not been submitted before.
The products submitted should use veneer as a main material - eitherfor accessories (gifts, lamps, toys, and decors) or furniture (desks,chairs, shelves and wardrobes).-VNA
