Viet Nam
Last updated: 07 March 2020
Profile
Profile
Forestry and legality
| Source | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | South-eastern Asia | (2019) | UNSD | |
| FLEGT status | VPA implementing | (2019) | FLEGT Facility | |
| Forest area | 14.8 | million ha | (2015) | FAO |
| Deforestation rate | -0.13 | million ha/year | (2010-2015) | FAO |
| Planted area | 3.663 | million ha | (2015) | FAO |
| Tree cover loss | 2.64 | million ha | (2001-2018) | Global Forest Watch |
| Tree cover loss (%) | 16 | % | (2001-2018) | Global Forest Watch |
| Tree cover gain | 564 | kha | (2001-2012) | Global Forest Watch |
| FSC certified area | 199,018 | ha | (December 2019) | FSC |
| PEFC certified area | 0 | ha | (December 2019) | PEFC |
| Double certified area (FSC & PEFC) | 0 | ha | (Mid-2019) | FSC & PEFC |
VPA status of Viet Nam
Viet Nam began negotiations with the EU in 2010 and signed a VPA in 2018. The agreement entered into force in June 2019.
The terms of the VPA were enshrined in Viet Nam’s new forestry law which came into force in January 2019. The new law includes a commitment from the government to further increase cooperation in forestry with foreign partners to strengthen environmental protection and help meet sustainable development goals, climate change and other international commitments.
Viet Nam published a plan in December 2018 with the objective of implementing a fully operational Timber Legality Assurance System (VNTLAS) by 31 December 2020. The plan is acknowledged to be ambitious and time scales and activities may need to be adjusted with experience.
The initial plan envisaged completion within only 2 years of all required activities under the following headings: development of legislative documents and guidelines; establishment of technical infrastructure for VNTLAS operation; capacity building for relevant stakeholders; communications; implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Agreement; and connecting activities supporting the VPA/FLEGT implementation regionally and internationally.
Viet Nam is not only a significant timber producer but also a major regional processing hub, importing wood from over 80 countries, tropical and temperate. VNTLAS will cover both domestically produced wood and imports.
Vietnamese operators will have to undertake due diligence on imports, assess the risk of illegality and undertake mitigation measures if necessary. There is potential for this to create a legality assurance ripple effect across the wide range of countries supplying Viet Nam.
Forest resources in Viet Nam
According to the World Resources Institute large areas of Vietnam’s forests were degraded, deforested, or defoliated following the conflicts of the mid-20th century. As a result, Vietnam embarked on a national afforestation program in 1987.
According to the FAO 2015 Forest Resource Assessment, forest area in Viet Nam increased from 9.4 million hectares in 1990 to 14.8 million hectares in 2015. Plantation area increased from 970,000 hectares to 3.66 million hectares during the same period.
Using the Vietnamese official definition, the total forest area in 2018 was 14.4 million hectares, with natural forest at 10.2 million hectares and plantations at 4.1 million hectares.
Vietnam is currently the only country in the Mekong region to have reported a continuous increase in forest cover over the last three decades. By 2030, the Vietnamese government aims to stabilize the natural forest area to at least equal the area achieved in 2020 and increase the national forest coverage to 45% of land area.
While forest area is increasing, concerns remain over the overall quality of forests, evident from very low biomass stocks. An estimated 33% of Vietnam´s forests are degraded and of poor quality having been degraded due to over-harvesting, agricultural conversion and the resulting overuse of soils. Only 8% of the forests in Vietnam are still classified as “rich and medium rich natural forests” (UNIQUE, 2017).
In 2014, the government imposed a logging ban in most natural forest areas, a regulation which was extended nationwide in 2017. Since then all commercial wood supply has been derived from plantations and imports.
Viet Nam’s plantations consist mainly of fast-growing species including eucalyptus, acacia, pine, together with some rubberwood and native species.
Supply from plantations is highly fragmented with between 60% and 70% derived from small household producers. Around 80% of plantation supply comprises small diameter wood suitable only for wood chips and MDF.
As a result, Viet Nam is heavily dependent on imports for wood supply, particularly of larger diameter logs and higher value and decorative species and panel products.
Industry
Industry
Economic and industrial status
| Source | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | 244.9 | billion USD | (2018) | World Bank |
| Population | 95.5 | million | (2018) | World Bank |
| Income group | Lower middle income | (2019) | World Bank | |
| Ease of Doing Business (EDB) Rank | 70 | / 190 | (2019) | World Bank |
| Global Competitiveness Index Rank | 67 | / 141 | (2019) | World Economic Forum |
| Liner Shipping Connectivity Index | 66.5 | (maximum value in 2004 = 100) | (2019) | World Bank |
Timber industry competitiveness of Viet Nam
Viet Nam’s role as a wood processing hub continued to rise during 2018. Viet Nam is increasingly recognised as the primary location in South East Asia for supply of mid-range interior furniture and has become a major competitor to China in this sector.
The on-going trade war in 2018 and 2019 between the US and China is creating some new export market opportunities but is not without risk for Viet Nam.
The US import tariffs imposed on Chinese wood products increases the competitiveness of Vietnamese wood products in that market and has led to a surge in investment in Viet Nam, particularly by Chinese manufacturers anxious to avoid the tariffs.
However, this in turn is increasing US scrutiny of Viet Nam’s own export promotion regime with claims already circulating, according to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, that some Chinese goods imported into the US are being transhipped through Viet Nam and misdeclared as originating in the country. The US Customs and Border Protection are understood to have begun investigations of Vietnamese plywood exports during 2018.
Rapid inward investment brings other challenges, including escalating land and labour costs, bottlenecks at ports, and traffic jams on roads implying saturation in some parts of Viet Nam and raising questions on whether the current pace of export growth can be sustained.
Viet Nam’s performance against various international competitiveness indices has been mixed in recent years. The country’s ranking on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness (GC) index increased from 70th in 2013 to 60th in 2017 but subsequently dropped again to 77th in 2018. On the GC, Viet Nam scored lower than Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. On the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index in 2018, Viet Nam (69th) ranked slightly higher than Indonesia (73rd) but significantly lower than Malaysia (15th) and Thailand (27th).
Viet Nam’s Connectivity Index ranking (19th) was unchanged in 2018 and remains significantly lower than China and Malaysia but is higher than India, Thailand and Indonesia.
IMM survey work indicates that the Vietnamese furniture industry is regarded by EU importers as technically more evolved than most other Asian producer countries and increasingly able to supply products to high European quality standards.
Trade Overview
Trade Overview
Highlights
Vietnam’s domestic wood products consumption is valued at around US$2.8 billion per year, equivalent to only US$30 per capita and much lower than the global average of US$72 per capita.
Domestic consumption is expected to increase, spurred on by rapid urbanisation and recent recovery in Vietnam’s real estate market, but at present the wood industry is still heavily export-oriented.
Viet Nam’s exports of wood furniture, plywood, pellets and wood chips are rising rapidly.
In 2018, it is estimated that Viet Nam was supplied with 34.4 million m3 (roundwood equivalent) of wood products (IMM estimate drawing on Viet Nam government sources and import data compiled by Forest Trends).
Around 70% of supply derived from domestic plantations, while the remainder comprised imports of logs (7%), sawnwood (15%) and panel products (8%).
Domestic wood supply constraints have meant that Viet Nam’s imports have continued to rise from a diversifying range of countries.
Viet Nam’s imports and exports of timber products in the latest 12 months (USD value from January 2019 to December 2019)
NOTE: Mirror data from STIX, drawing on trade data reported by Viet Nam’s main trading partners, is used. Read more about the data in ‘Data Sources and Issues’.
Hover over the chart to see the value.
| Imports (4,488.73 Million USD) | Exports (14,546.03 Million USD) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Country | Product | Product | Country | Region |
Viet Nam’s production, imports, exports and domestic consumption of primary wood products in 2018
(data source: ITTO) Hover over the chart to see the value.
Trend in production, imports, exports and domestic consumption of primary wood products (logs, sawnwood, plywood, and veneer) in Viet Nam
(data source: ITTO) 
Imports
Imports
NOTE: Mirror data from STIX, drawing on trade data reported by Viet Nam’s main trading partners, is used. Read more about the data in ‘Data Sources and Issues’.
Highlights
Total imports of wood products into Vietnam in 2018 reached US$2.34 billion, up 7.6% compared to 2017.
In 2018, Vietnam imported 2.28 million m3 of logs with a value of US$698 million, up respectively 2% and 4% from 2.24 million m3 and US$668.4 million in 2017. Viet Nam’s log imports in 2018 were double the volume of only five years before.
Tropical log imports from Cameroon have risen dramatically in recent years, exceeding 600,000 m3 in both 2017 and 2018. Meanwhile imports from Cambodia and Malaysia, formerly the largest suppliers, declined to well under 100,000 m3 in 2018. Other significant tropical log suppliers are PNG, DRC, RoC, Ghana, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
Imports of temperate logs have also risen, particularly from the United States and Belgium. Much of this comprises oak and ash for manufacture of interior furniture for re-export from Viet Nam.
Viet Nam’s imports of sawn timber were 2.41 million m3 in 2018, 11% more than in 2017. Import value increased by 6% to US$ 929 million in 2018. In total during the period 2015 to 2019, Viet Nam’s sawnwood import volume increased by 50%.
The United States is now the largest supplier of sawnwood, with Viet Nam’s imports rising from 496,000 m3 in 2017 to 541,000 m3 in 2018. Chile is the second largest supplier, with Viet Nam’s imports rising from 246,000 m3 to 309,000 m3 in the same period.
Amongst tropical countries, Cambodia was still a significant sawnwood supplier to Viet Nam in 2018, with imports of 220,000 m3 in 2018, although a significant decline from 272,000 m3 the year before. Imports from Brazil increased dramatically from 170,000 m3 in 2017 to 210,000 m3 in 2018. Imports from Brazil in 2018 were four times the volume of only five years before. Sawnwood imports have also been rising from Gabon and Cameroon.
Trend in Viet Nam’s timber product imports by region (12-month rolling averages)
Viet Nam’s top 5 import partners in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
| Country | Value (Million USD) |
|---|---|
| China | 2,084.01 |
| United States | 431.12 |
| Republic of Korea | 356.00 |
| Indonesia | 312.43 |
| Japan | 246.00 |
Viet Nam’s timber product imports by product group in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
| Product | Value (Million USD) |
|---|---|
| Paper | 2,330.22 |
| Wood | 1,360.91 |
| Furniture | 589.23 |
| Pulp | 208.38 |
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Viet Nam’s timber product imports by product group and region (12-month rolling averages)
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Viet Nam’s timber product imports from top 5 origin countries by product group (12-month rolling averages)
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Total value of Viet Nam’s wood product imports from top 5 origin countries in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
(unit: 1000 USD)
| Composite panels | Fuel and charcoal | Joinery | Logs and other raw wood | Other processed wood | Pallets, packaging and barrels | Sawnwood and mouldings | Veneers and plywood | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All countries | 105,109 | 4,312 | 32,459 | 234,207 | 43,768 | 4,180 | 516,775 | 420,097 |
| Rank 1 | China 31,557 | Indonesia 2,686 | China 20,837 | United States 92,599 | China 39,475 | China 1,608 | United States 231,131 | China 383,670 |
| Rank 2 | Malaysia 23,776 | Germany 733 | Malaysia 7,443 | Belgium 40,388 | Hong Kong 1,019 | Republic of Korea 1,099 | Chile 67,787 | Indonesia 12,229 |
| Rank 3 | New Zealand 19,388 | China 312 | Poland 2,486 | Germany 38,229 | Republic of Korea 910 | Malaysia 842 | Brazil 48,037 | United States 10,339 |
| Rank 4 | Canada 9,918 | South Africa 197 | Republic of Korea 629 | China 13,973 | Japan 754 | Spain 124 | New Zealand 36,953 | Taiwan 2,778 |
| Rank 5 | Indonesia 6,538 | New Zealand 115 | Italy 254 | France 13,516 | Taiwan 420 | Poland 118 | Croatia 20,452 | Malaysia 1,921 |
*Wood products are products under Chapter 44 of Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS).
Exports
Exports
NOTE: Mirror data from STIX, drawing on trade data reported by Viet Nam’s main trading partners, is used. Read more about the data in ‘Data Sources and Issues’.
Highlights
Viet Nam’s wood products exports were US$ 8.48 billion in 2018, a gain of 1.07 billion (14.5%) compared with 2017. There was particularly strong growth in exports of wooden seats and other furniture, pellets, wood chips and plywood in 2018.
Export value of wooden seats increased by 14% from US\(1.20 billion in 2017 to US\) 1.28 billion in 2018 while export value of other wooden furniture increased from US$ 3.78 billion to US$ 4.00 billion.
The main export market for wooden furniture from Viet Nam is the US, followed some way behind by Japan, the UK, China, Republic of Korea, Australia and Canada.
Export volume of pellets increased from 2.02 million tonnes to 3.02 million tonnes in 2018, while export value increased from US$216 million to US$409 million, with nearly all destined for the Republic of Korea
Exports of wood chips increased from 8.2 million tonnes to 10.4 million tonnes, while export value increased from US$1.07 billion to 1.34 billion. Most of this product is destined for China, the remainder destined for Japan and Republic of Korea.
Plywood export volume increased by 58% from 1.24 million m3 to 1.95 million m3, while export value increased by 73% from US$ 387 million to US$ 668 million.
The value Viet Nam’s exports of all wood products to the United States increased by 17% year-on-year to US$ 3.6 billion in 2018 when the country accounted for 43% of total exports.
Viet Nam’s wood products exports to Japan were valued at US$ 1.1 billion in 2018, 13% of the total export value and up 13% compared to 2017.
Viet Nam’s exports to the Republic of Korea were valued at nearly US$ 940 million in 2018, an increase of 39% compared to 2017 and accounting for 11% of total exports.
Viet Nam’s exports of wood products to China decreased by 1% to around US$ 1 billion in 2018, when the country accounted for 12% of total exports
With export value of US$785 million in 2018, the EU accounted for 9% of Viet Nam’s wood products exports in 2018.
Total value of Viet Nam’s exports of timber products in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
| Total export: | 14,546.03 Million USD |
| Total export to EU: | 1,062.01 Million USD |
| Total export to other regulated countries (Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Republic of Korea, United States of America, and Viet Nam): | 3,214.8 Million USD |
Trend in Viet Nam’s timber product exports by region (12-month rolling averages)
Viet Nam’s top 5 export partners in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
| Country | Value (Million USD) |
|---|---|
| United States | 7,882.62 |
| Japan | 1,812.00 |
| China | 1,572.91 |
| Republic of Korea | 991.47 |
| United Kingdom | 396.95 |
Trend in Viet Nam’s timber product exports to EU and other regulated countries (12-month rolling averages)
*Other regulated countries include Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Republic of Korea, United States of America, and Viet Nam
Total value of Viet Nam’s exports by timber product group in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
| Product | Value (Million USD) |
|---|---|
| Furniture | 9,883.27 |
| Wood | 3,695.70 |
| Paper | 966.69 |
| Pulp | 0.37 |
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Trend in Viet Nam’s exports by timber product group and region (12-month rolling averages)
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Trend in Viet Nam’s exports to top 5 destination countries by timber product group (12-month rolling averages)
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Trend in Viet Nam’s timber product exports to regulated (EU and others) and unregulated countries (12-month rolling averages)
*Timber products are categorized according to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes: wood (chapter 44), pulp (chapter 47), paper (chapter 48) and furniture (chapter 94)
Total value of Viet Nam’s wood product exports in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
(unit: 1000 USD)
| Composite panels | Fuel and charcoal | Joinery | Logs and other raw wood | Other processed wood | Pallets, packaging and barrels | Sawnwood and mouldings | Veneers and plywood | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All countries | 24,962 | 2,310,035 | 132,094 | 36,529 | 244,364 | 5,281 | 144,097 | 798,342 |
| Rank 1 | Japan 8,329 | China 1,055,515 | United States 46,250 | China 17,238 | Japan 76,685 | Republic of Korea 1,626 | China 54,847 | United States 367,040 |
| Rank 2 | China 4,808 | Japan 770,896 | Japan 31,908 | Republic of Korea 9,992 | United States 52,709 | United States 1,231 | Republic of Korea 32,623 | Republic of Korea 217,174 |
| Rank 3 | Republic of Korea 4,694 | Republic of Korea 357,834 | United Kingdom 10,444 | Indonesia 5,420 | Republic of Korea 22,297 | Australia 555 | Japan 25,970 | Malaysia 65,570 |
| Rank 4 | United States 4,338 | Indonesia 93,473 | Belgium 9,381 | Taiwan 2,385 | Germany 19,950 | Taiwan 356 | Taiwan 11,859 | China 63,417 |
| Rank 5 | Indonesia 1,010 | Taiwan 24,260 | Republic of Korea 7,419 | Japan 638 | Netherlands 10,167 | United Kingdom 279 | United States 8,237 | Japan 54,391 |
Trend in Viet Nam’s wood product exports to regulated countries (12-month rolling averages)
*Regulated countries include European Union, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Republic of Korea, United States of America, and Viet Nam.
EU Imports
EU Imports
(data source: Eurostat COMEXT)
Highlights
The euro value of EU wood products imports from Viet Nam declined slightly (by 0.4%) to €813 million in 2018 after falling by 1.5% in 2017. Viet Nam accounted for 21.1% of the total value of EU tropical wood-product imports in 2018, down from 21.7% the previous year.
EU imports of plywood and other laminated and joinery products increased from Viet Nam in 2018. EU imports of Vietnamese plywood increased nearly three-fold during the year, to over 21,000 m3, although still small relative to the leading tropical suppliers. In 2018, EU imports from Viet Nam of wooden doors increased by 134% to €6.5 million, glulam increased by 51% to 9,200 tonnes, and real wood flooring increased by 6%, to 252,000 m2.
Of tropical countries, Viet Nam is the leading supplier of wood furniture to the EU. In value terms, EU imports from Viet Nam were flat in 2018, at €723 million, but in tonnage terms imports increased by 6%, to 233,000 tonnes.
Viet Nam is one of the few tropical countries to supply paper products to the EU. Although EU imports from Viet Nam increased by 86% to 13,000 tonnes in 2018, this volume is negligible in a sector with EU consumption of around 80 million tonnes per annum, and total imports from outside the EU of 7.4 million tonnes.
Trend in EU imports of timber products from Viet Nam by product group (12-month rolling averages)
Trend in EU timber product imports from Viet Nam to top 5 destination countries (12-month rolling averages)
Trend in timber product imports from Viet Nam to top 5 EU countries by product group (12-month rolling averages)
Trend in EU imports of wood products from Viet Nam by product group (12-month rolling averages)
Trend in wood product imports from Viet Nam to top 5 EU countries by product group (12-month rolling averages)
Total quantity of EU imports of wood product from Viet Nam to top 5 destination countries in the latest 12 months (from January 2019 to December 2019)
(unit: kg)
| Composite panels | Fuel and charcoal | Joinery | Logs and other raw wood | Other processed wood | Pallets, packaging and barrels | Sawnwood and mouldings | Veneers and plywood | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All countries | 53,672 | 14,218,799 | 17,770,625 | 43,411 | 24,052,437 | 374,323 | 4,305,317 | 10,253,543 |
| Rank 1 | France 20,950 | Denmark 6,139,968 | Belgium 7,696,117 | Germany 42,167 | Germany 9,278,539 | United Kingdom 108,935 | France 3,680,391 | Germany 3,637,412 |
| Rank 2 | Germany 13,838 | Sweden 5,299,599 | United Kingdom 3,369,246 | France 790 | Netherlands 3,825,689 | Denmark 76,319 | Belgium 215,781 | Czechia 1,317,760 |
| Rank 3 | Spain 11,758 | Greece 1,666,513 | France 2,173,878 | Cyprus 444 | Sweden 2,430,152 | Belgium 59,918 | Poland 105,182 | Sweden 1,106,964 |
| Rank 4 | United Kingdom 4,840 | Cyprus 432,210 | Ireland 1,098,987 | Denmark 10 | France 2,031,510 | Germany 47,587 | Denmark 91,626 | Romania 1,024,190 |
| Rank 5 | Italy 1,195 | Germany 165,380 | Netherlands 840,977 | Poland 2,003,148 | Netherlands 33,903 | Netherlands 80,761 | Poland 988,930 |
*Wood products are products under Chapter 44 of Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS).
Data Sources and Issues
Data Sources and Issues
Due to lack of access to regular data on timber product exports from Viet Nam, the statistics shown in this IMM report draw on import data from 44 major timber trading countries in the EU, Asia and America. While these countries include many of Viet Nam’s most significant trade partners there are significant omissions including neighbouring countries (Laos, Cambodia, Thailand) in the Mekong region and key tropical supply countries in Africa such as Cameroon.
Where necessary, the commentary in this report draws on additional secondary sources, notably the annual analysis of Viet Nam timber trade by Forest Trends supported by various agencies.