Unexpected exploitation" makes it difficult for deep-processing businesses
Over the past time, Vietnam's wood processing industry has made outstanding progress, becoming one of the country's key export industries with export turnover of more than 17 billion USD in 2025. However, the growth potential in the coming period will no longer come from expanding scale in breadth but must be based on growth quality, productivity and adaptability to new requirements of the global market.
Therefore, developing sustainable raw material sources is not only a requirement to meet the standards of the export market but also an important foundation to help wood industry enterprises improve competitiveness, be proactive in supply, reduce dependence on imported raw materials and increase value for deep processed products.
Mr. Pham Dinh Thang - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trieu Thai Son Co., Ltd. - said that if we want the deep-processing wood industry to develop sustainably, we must first solve the raw material problem. A stable, legal, sufficiently old and sufficiently quality source of raw materials for deep processing is increasingly fiercely competitive.
Reality in the locality shows that the situation of exploiting young acacia and 3-4 year old acacia is still quite common. In addition, purchasing points and weighing stations are developing strongly, purchasing raw materials at all costs, causing the raw material market to be unstable. Deep processing enterprises, investing in factories, machinery, labor, export standards and environmental responsibility are placed in a passive position.
For the same source of acacia raw materials, if sold raw or shredded, the value earned is low; but if put into deep processing such as peeling boards,plywood, taking advantage of by-products to make pellets or biomass fuel, the value can increase many times. The story here is not only about the purchase price of raw materials, but also how much value we are choosing to retain for the locality, for workers, for the budget and for the position of Vietnam's wood industry" - Mr. Thang emphasized.
Forming large, quality timber areas for deep processing
From that reality, Mr. Thang believes that it is necessary to soon review, inspect and rectify the operations of crushing facilities, purchasing points and spontaneous weighing stations; resolutely handle facilities that do not meet legal, environmental, fire prevention and fighting conditions and the origin of raw materials.
In addition, there needs to be policies to limit the situation of exploiting young acacia, encouraging people to extend the forest planting cycle to 5-7 years to form large timber areas, timber that meets the standards for deep processing. To do this, forest growers must clearly see the economic benefits of keeping forests longer, through consumption contracts, support for seeds, techniques, forest certification and appropriate price mechanisms.
Agreeing with this view, Mr. Doan Van Tinh - Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDF Mekong Company said that it is necessary to have a stronger orientation for the goal of increasing the added value of the wood industry. For the industry to develop sustainably and increase added value, it is very necessary to have adjustments in mechanisms and policies in the direction of encouraging deep processing instead of exporting raw materials.
If we continue to focus on exporting wood chips, the economic efficiency brought about will not be commensurate with the potential of the forestry industry. Low added value, low labor demand and budget revenue from this activity are also limited. Meanwhile, investing in deep processing will create many times higher added value, leading to the development of mechanical engineering, logistics, design, commerce and services industries; and at the same time create more stable jobs, improve income for workers and make greater contributions to the State budget" - Mr. Tinh said.
