5/5 targets are met and exceeded
According to the report of the General Department of Forestry (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), in 2022, five out of five of the industry’s targets will meet and exceed the set targets, of which the planted forest area will reach 259,615 hectares, 6.4% higher than the target. the proposed plan, an increase of 5.9% compared to 2021; timber production in 2022 is estimated at 19,698,000m3, exceeding 6.57% of the plan, increasing by 7.2% in 2021; the export value of wood and forest products is estimated at 16.928 billion USD, exceeding 3.8% of the plan, up 6.1% compared to 2021; revenue from forest environment services reached VND 3,686.96 billion, reaching 122.9% of the revenue plan in 2022; forest coverage rate reached 42.02%.
2022 is considered the most difficult year ever for the wood industry. The wood industry’s growth rate reached 7.1%, mainly thanks to markets such as Northeast Asia, Oceania, Korea, Japan… the rest of the North American and EU markets were almost “standing still” due to Depression.
Wood processing at Nhat Nam Company, Binh Duong province. Photo: KN
In addition to the achievements, the forestry sector in the past year still has some hot spots on deforestation, illegal transportation and storage of forest products and against law enforcement officers, especially in the regional provinces. Highlands.
In addition, the infrastructure for forestry development has not been properly invested, especially in forest management boards and forestry companies. The infrastructure is weak and lacks equipment for the protection of forests. forest, fire prevention and fighting. The situation of forest rangers and forest protection forces quitting and quitting jobs occurs in many places and areas where it is difficult to recruit new workers.
The policies related to forestry investment are not attractive to attract people and businesses to invest in intensive afforestation. Statistics show that the income per hectare of planted forest is very low, only 10 million VND/ha/year on average, leading to low income of forest growers, accounting for only 25% of total income.
Investment funds for forest management and protection are still very small, annual state funding is reduced, in some places not, and not timely according to the plan, causing many forest owners to sign a contract for forest protection. For local people, the average level of contracted forest protection is about 300,000 – 400,000 VND/ha, while the minimum demand must be over 1,000,000 VND/ha.
Proposal to quickly disburse loans for businesses
Regarding the key tasks in 2023, Mr. Bui Chinh Nghia – Deputy Director of the General Department of Forestry said that the forestry sector aims to increase the value of forestry production from 5 to 5.5%; the national forest coverage rate remained stable at around 42%; export value of forest products 17.5 billion USD; concentrated afforestation 245,000 ha, of which 240,000 ha are planted with production forests; forest environment service revenue 3,000 billion dong.
However, according to Mr. Do Xuan Lap – Chairman of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association, it is forecasted that in the first months of 2023, the wood industry will still face many difficulties. “We estimate that by the end of the second quarter of 2023, we can recover about 85% of production and expect a growth rate of 7-9%, equivalent to 18 billion USD or more” – Mr. Do Xuan Lap emphasized. .
Mr. Lap said, to do this, the wood industry will continue to focus on improving the competitiveness of businesses by applying the same solutions: Promote the use of domestically planted forest wood, reduce the imported wood; apply scientific and technological advances to improve labor productivity; promote digital transformation to reduce production costs; promote low emission production; coordinate with localities to build concentrated processing industrial parks; promote trade promotion activities, organize large international fairs, strive from 2024, will regularly organize 4 large fairs/year…
Besides, the Association will actively coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to organize a balanced forestry sector development; afforestation development goes hand in hand with processing. At the same time, coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to promote trade promotion. Because, only knowing the market can proactively produce and perform well in resolving commercial disputes.
Compared with the Chinese wood industry, Mr. Lap said that China’s wood enterprises all have distribution companies in large markets, most Vietnamese enterprises have not been able to do this, so market fluctuations have a negative impact. move very quickly and strongly to Vietnamese enterprises.
Mr. Lap said that now many businesses in the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association have actively hired foreign consultants to produce high efficiency and ensure the safety of carbon emissions.
The Chairman of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association proposed the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to consider the equitization of forestry companies; increase calls for investment from foreign enterprises in afforestation, because they have favorable technology and potential to form production linkages. In addition, Mr. Lap also proposed that the Government create favorable conditions for disbursing loans for businesses.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan acknowledged that the wood industry is currently in a state of “mud at the feet and sunshine on top”. Minister Le Minh Hoan asked the Wood and Forest Products Association to summarize in detail the issues and propose to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to work together with the Prime Minister to remove difficulties, ensure production and development. market development of timber and forest products.