So far, Vietnamese processing enterprises can make up for some wood shortages, but in the long run, it may be more serious

In the first two months of this year, the export of wood and wood products achieved positive results, reaching US $2.6 billion, but the problem of wood shortage still exists. "Timber prices are rising every day," said Mr. tran Phuong, director of Minh Thanh Company Ltd. Minh Thanh uses 95% of imported pine wood, mainly from Chile and New Zealand. At present, the price of New Zealand pine logs has reached US $175-180 per cubic meter, compared with us $140-148 two months ago. The current price of Chilean pine logs is $190 per cubic meter, up from $155 before.





When the supply chain is still tense due to COVID-19, Ukraine's war is a new blow to rising prices of raw materials and fuel. Mr. Phuong said that at this time, Minh Thanh, which is using imported wood, was also indirectly affected by "changes in the U.S. market". From the beginning of 2020 to the end of 2021, the price of construction materials in the United States increased fourfold, and continued to rise at a high level in early 2022. American wood suppliers turned to pine rather than oak to meet the very high demand for construction wood. Other countries, including New Zealand and Chile, have also sold pine wood to the United States, pushing the price of this kind of wood to a higher level in the global market.





Vietnam's timber industry is witnessing a universal principle: the more growth, the higher the risk. At present, Vietnam's exports of wood and wood products rank second in Asia, with an annual growth rate of about 17%. Now, the global timber supply is under pressure from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.