Decreasing overseas demand affects export of forestry products
The export value of forestry products in July dropped by 5.5% from the previous month to US$1.41 billion, also down 1.6% from the same period last year, according to the Forestry Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The figure for the seven-month period from January to July was estimated at US$10.42 billion, up 1.3% year on year.
Timber and wood products earned US$9.72 billion, up 1.2%, while other forestry products brought home US$0.7 billion, a 2.6% increase.
Main markets for Vietnamese forestry products are the US, Japan, China, the EU and the Republic of Korea, which together bought US$9.38 billion worth of products, or 90% of the total export value.
A 4.9% year-on-year reduction in the US market was to be blamed for the decrease in the total forestry export value this year, even though shipments to the other four major markets continued to post growth.
Do Xuan Lap, Chairman of the Vietnam Timber & Forest Products Association (VIFORES), said demand for non-essential goods in big markets like the US, EU and UK has been dropping strongly, adversely affecting the business of enterprises in the wood and forestry sector.
