China dominates Vietnam wood chip trade

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• Trade

Vietnamese companies ship an estimated four million tons of woodchips to China annually, according to statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

China is the dominate consumer market for Vietnam wood and wood products, says the Department, with exports to it having hit US$965.8 million in 2015, nearly US$121 million higher than the figure for 2014.

For the first nine months of 2016, total wood exports to the Chinese market have tallied in at US$725.3 million, equivalent to 75% of the whole of last year’s figure.

However, most export products to China are raw commodities with relatively low added value. Around 70% of woodchips exported to China come from acacia and eucalyptus trees.

Vice versa, Vietnam imports of wood and wood products from China registered US$303.6 million last year (equal to 31% of total Vietnam exports of wood and wood products to China) and US$200.4 million for first nine months of 2016.

Thus, Vietnam exports of wood and wood products to China are higher than imports. However, the trade balance will change in the coming time when China closes its natural forests to exploitation in 2017.

VOV