Page 25 - FDMAsia Nov/Dec 2025

FOCUS 23
www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA NOV/DEC 2025

At that time, few could have imagined how far the Vietnamese Vietnam’s Net Zero commitment by 2050.
timber industry would go. Yet, from the first sawmill hum to As it steps into its next chapter VIFOREST remains a
today’s modern factories producing world-class designs, the beacon of knowledge, connection and leadership guiding the
industry has grown into a global force. industry toward a greener more inclusive future.

This year, exports are expected to reach over US$17 From the resilience built over the past 25 years rises a
billion, securing Vietnam’s place among the top five wood renewed ambition to see Vietnamese wood not only reach
and wood product exporters worldwide and second place every corner of the world but also stand as a proud symbol
wooden furniture and interior manufacturers, just after China. of sustainability, innovation and national identity.
Behind those impressive numbers are millions of hardworking
forest growers, thousands of resilient businesses and countless HCM City set to become global hub for wooden
silent contributions to the nation’s green growth. furniture production and export
Each log, each crafted piece of furniture carries within it HCM City is poised to become one of the world’s leading
the ingenuity, dedication and unity of a community that has hubs for wood product and furniture production and export

weathered challenges and embraced change. as the global market enters a recovery cycle and demand
Through global turbulence, from the pandemic and trade for green, sustainable products continues to rise, according
disruptions to the growing urgency of climate change, Vietnam’s to speakers at a seminar in the city.
timber industry has shown remarkable resilience. Exports, The event, titled ‘HCM City’s Wood and Furniture Export
once just over US$1 billion in the early 2000s, soared to Industry – A Global Manufacturing and Export Hub’, was jointly
US$17.1 billion in 2022. organised by the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association
These milestones are more than economic success stories of HCM City (HAWA), the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product

they are testaments to the Vietnamese spirit of innovation, Association (Viforest) and the Bình Duong Furniture Association
adaptability and perseverance. (BIFA).
But as the world turns its focus toward the green economy, Speaking at the event, Phùng Quoc Man, Chairman of
circular economy and responsible supply chains, new horizons HAWA, said Vietnam’s wood industry has achieved remarkable
appear, both challenging and full of promise. progress over the past two decades, growing from less than
Global standards on traceability, emission reduction and US$200 million in export value in 1999 to an expected $20
forest certification are no longer distant concepts; they are billion by 2025.
today’s imperatives. For Vietnam, they signal an opportunity Vietnam is now the world’s second-largest exporter of
to redefine its wood industry one that is modern, transparent wooden furniture, just behind China.

and value-driven.
The 5th Congress of VIFOREST, held in November 2025, ShareVault
marked a defining moment. Looking toward 2030 VIFOREST
sets forth an ambitious vision: to elevate Vietnam’s wood
and forest product exports to US$25 billion and to make
the ‘Wood from Vietnam’ brand a global emblem of quality,
responsibility and creativity.

This is not merely about economic targets, it is about
sustaining forests, nurturing livelihoods and contributing to