In the first quarter of 2007, Vietnam exported US$277.7 million worth of woodwork products to the US, up 49 per cent compared with the same period of last year and accounting for over 20 per cent of the country’s total.
The experts said that the US$1.26 billion target, which shows an on year rise of 40 per cent, is achievable basing on growing occupation of Vietnamese woodwork products on the US market.
According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam exported only US$16.1 million worth of woodwork products to US in 2001, accounting for only 0.06 per cent of total woodwork supply in this huge market. The figure rose to US$44.7 million in 2002 or up by 178 per cent, accounting for 10 per cent of Vietnam’s total woodwork export revenue.
The US imported US$116 million worth goods, comprising 20 per cent of Vietnam’s total in 2003. In 2005, the US surpassed the EU and Japan to become the biggest consumer of Vietnamese woodwork products with total expense reaching US$697 million, occupying 79 per cent.
Last year, the US contributed US$902.5 million to Vietnam’s total earning from woodwork exports, which was more than US$2.2 billion.
Experts stressed at the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement, which pulled woodwork import tariff from Vietnam from 50-55 per cent to only 0-3 per cent, as the most important reason for the growth.
Diverse designs and competitive prices of Vietnamese woodwork products also make impression on the US consumers, the experts said.
The US consumers are worried about the dominance of Chinese woodwork products at U.S. market, pushing them to choose Vietnamese ones to diversify suppliers.
The experts added that the US consumers appreciated Vietnam’s efforts to please their taste by increasing capacity and products’ quality and participating into international woodwork expos.
However, the experts warned Vietnamese woodwork processing and exporting enterprises of possible anti-dumping lawsuits from the US, particularly on three major items which are making up for over 3 per cent of the US’s market share.
Presently, Vietnamese bedroom wooden furniture is holding 14.66 per cent of the U.S. market while other wooden furniture and uncovered wooden chair occupying 3.71 per cent and 5.54 per cent, respectively.
Vietnam expects US$2.5 billion from wood products export this year and US$5.56 billion in 2010.