On the occasion of Vietnam International Furniture & Home Accessories Fair 2014 (VIFA - EXPO 2014) organised by Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade in collaboration with the Handicraft & Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA) from 11 – 14 March 2014 at the Sai Gon Convention and Exhibition Centre, Vietnam Business Forum quoted opinions of some experts in the timber industry on the advantages and difficulties of the industry as well as solutions to develop the industry. Anh Dao reports.
Mr Nguyen Phuong Dong, Deputy Director of HCM City Department of Industry and Trade
Approved by Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, from 2014, the Department of Trade and Industry in collaboration with HAWA combine the two annual fairs, VIFA and EXPO, to organise VIFA-EXPO Fair. This coordination will promote the strength of the two organisations, contributing to increase the effectiveness of trade promotion, at the same time developing towards an increasingly large and professional fair, gathering a lot of businesses to become a specialized fair.
Mr Nguyen Ton Quyen, Secretary General of Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (VIFORES )It is expected that the Voluntary Partnership Agreements on the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (VPA / FLEGT) between Vietnam and the EU will be signed in 2014. Then with support from the EU, the price of furniture and handicrafts of Vietnam will be higher; market consumption will also be more stable, bringing great prospects for the timber industry.
However, there remains difficulty. The biggest difficulty is that the law of Vietnam is not complete, not in accordance with the new regulations. Furthermore, the awareness of partners such as planters, traders, trade villages, etc about the FLEGT and VPA is rather vague and it would be difficult to take advantage of the opportunities that the Agreement brings.
Mr Nguyen Chien Thang, HAWA Chairman
Vietnam's wood processing industry possesses many advantages, if we know how to link and promote these strengths, in the near future; Vietnam will become a timber supplier for the world. If the wood processing industry develops, it will stimulate the development of supporting industry for the timber industry such as packaging, oil, color etc, thereby contributing to raising revenue and creating thousands of jobs.
However, the shortcoming of Vietnam's wood processing industry is high production cost. The important issue now is how to reduce costs by 15-20 percent; thus attracting new international consumers flocking to Vietnam to buy furniture for a very competitive price.
Mr Huynh Van Hanh, HAWA Vice Chairman, General Manager of Alliance Handicraft Wooden Fine Art CorporationOne of the weaknesses of Vietnam enterprises is governance capacity, so in the recent years HAWA has organised classes to help businesses access market information, and enhance business management capacity.
On the other hand, playing the role of representing and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the timber enterprises, HAWA has consulted the government many critical policies to support the timber industry as well as timber enterprises. For example, HAWA recommended the Government increase or tax cuts, or propose solutions to bring the timber industry to become a spearhead economic sector, so from now to 2020, it will reach the export turnover of US$15-20 billion, not US$7.3 billion as the target the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed.
For documents issued by the state which begin to reveal the inadequacies or gaps in the implementation process, making it difficult for companies in the industry, we will gather comments and opinion from enterprises to submit to the ministries and central.
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