Vietnam is working hard to complete its legal corridor and tighten the examination and supervision of imported wood materials to ensure transparency in the wood sector and meet the strict origin rules in foreign markets.

Though exports of Vietnam’s wood and furniture products have seen strong growth since the beginning of US-China trade tensions, the country has also faced major pressure in the US.

As part of efforts to control the origin of raw materials for export, Vietnam issued Decree No 102/2020-ND-CP detailing regulations on the timber legality assurance system.

Each year, Vietnam imports 2-2.5 million cubic metres of wood from Africa, certain countries in South America, and Laos, Cambodia, and Papua New Guinea, which is equal to 40-50 percent of its total imported logs and sawnwood.

In order to implement Decree No 102, the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association proposed that ministries and sectors direct relevant agencies to require wood material importers, apart from strictly declaring information in line with regulations, to provide supplementary documents such as the exploitation licences of the producers or the operational registration of wood processing facilities, the export licences of exporters, and certificates of origin.