HA NOI (VNS) — With earnings topping US$1.2 billion in the first quarter, exporters of timber and and wood products are hoping to rake in $5.5 billion this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

With 3.5 million hectares of forest, the country harvests approximately 6 million cubic metres of wood each year, 80 per cent of which is exported in the form of wood chips, while only 20 per cent is processed into other kinds of products.

The US, China and Japan are the major markets for Vietnamese wood and wood products.

Last year, Viet Nam became the largest wood exporter in Southeast Asia, with a total export turnover of $4.67 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18 per cent. However, Vietnamese wood product exporters are still facing various difficulties such as unhealthy competition and a lack of distribution networks in foreign markets. — VNS