(VOV) -Even with its annual export revenue surpassing US$4.5 billion, the wood processing sector still suffers from support industry deficiencies.
Every year around US$700 million is spent on importing miscellaneous parts including wood glue, paint, padlocks, screws, and hinges.
Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (Vietfores) Vice Chairman Nguyen Ton Quyen said the imported parts make up 30-40 percent of the production cost for each product on sale.
In the first half of this year, the wood processing sector surpassed the agriculture, forestry and aquaculture sector by fetching US$2.46 billion in export earning, up 12.5 percent on 2012.
However, the industry had to import US$689 million worth of materials and US$360 million on miscellaneous parts.
Nguyen Manh Dung, Head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s (MARD) Wood Processing Department, said integrating Vietnam’s wood processing into the global value chain will require a much more effort in support industry.
The glue used in producing plywood is the most important determinant of its quality and international competitiveness. On average, one cubic metre of plywood uses 100kg of urea-formaldehyde glue.
A cubic metre of particle board needs 90-100kg of glue, 8-10kg of silica gel, and 2kg of ammonium chloride, while the same amount of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) requires 80-100kg of glue, 10kg of paraffin, and 1.7-2kg of ammonium chloride.
From 2016-2020, the MARD plans to turn out 100,000 cubic metres of particle board, 1.5 million cubic metres of plywood, and 500,000 cubic metres of other man-made wood products.
Achieving such targets it annually needs at least 250,000 tonnes of glue, 5,000 tonnes of ammonium chloride, and tens of thousands of tonnes of silica gel.
Each square metre of wood surface requires 250gr of paint and other finishing chemicals, and there is an urgent need for hundreds of thousands of tonnes each year.
In fact, only 10 percent of the total volume of such materials can be domestically produced, but the remainder has to be imported at annual cost of US$400 million.
Almost no Vietnamese factories specialise in manufacturing spare parts for wood processing industry.
The limited quantity of padlocks and handles manufactured domestically are of substandard quality.
Compensatory Chinese imports are unacceptable for use in luxury or export timber products.
Vietnam has no clear-cut policy to develop support industry for wood processing sector and the Prime Minister’s support industry development decision is still on paper.
In the forestry sector’s 2016-2020 strategy there is no mention of support industry for wood and timber processing.
The Department of Processing and Trade for Agro-Forestry-Fisheries and Salt has only outlined orientations for developing such an industry in future.
The focus will be on encouraging domestically manufacturing wood glue for man-made board and furniture construction by 2020.
The chemical industry will be asked to produce non-toxic paints and metallic finishes to reduce the reliance on imported materials and improve the quality of wood products for export.
Vietnam will cooperate with Japan and the Republic of Korea in researching and improving the sustainable growth of standards of the wood processing sector.
Đăng ký: VietNam News