Woodwork exporters expand into new markets

Local wood exporters are expanding their presence in the U.S. and China, the biggest importers of the wood processing industry, with more showrooms and warehouses.
According to Bui Thi Thanh An, chief representative of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade member woodwork and handicraft exporters of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (Hawa) would have a showroom at an exhibition center in the southern city of Guangzhou next month.

The showroom has an area of 2,000 square meters, placed at the center of the most well-known locations of China’s wood processing industry.

According to Hawa, the Chinese partner will support Vietnam and other countries with renting costs to encourage them to participate in the grand opening in November.

Dang Quoc Hung, vice chairman of Hawa, said that the site is just the starting point of a long-term goal for local wood and handicraft product exporters in the Chinese market.

The Chinese market became the second largest importer of Vietnamese wood and wood products by the middle of this year.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the export value to China in July surpassed European markets and Japan to become the largest importer of Vietnamese wood at US$344 million after the US at $744 million.

“We want to be sure that our products are different from Chinese goods, so we can compete with them in this market as China is also the largest woodwork exporter in Asia,” he said.

Tran Quoc Manh, vice chairman of Hawa, who has just returned from a furnishing fair in Las Vegas, told the Saigon Times Daily that a member of the association has opened a showroom there, targeting the retail market that is worth billions of dollars.

Manh said he was in talks with an American partner to build a warehouse to store his and other Vietnamese companies’ products.

“After a long time exporting to the US, we want to make something more sustainable. In this expansion plan, we aim to create a supply chain for Vietnamese products in the US, reducing the reliance on local importers and distributors. If we succeed, our price can be much more competitive,” Manh said.

But the vice chairman also said that the expansion plan is not easy and it requires time as well as a good strategy.

According to the ministry, in the first eight months of this year, wood and wood product exports of Vietnam earned US$2.4 billion, up 18 percent year-on-year.

The industry targets an export value of US$4 billion this year.
Tuoi Tre

Tags: Vietnam wood exports