Vietnam’s Timber Export Growth Hits Bottlenecks

Against compound pressures of persistent global geopolitical conflicts, surging logistics costs and increasingly stringent international green trade standards, Vietnam’s exports of timber and wood products maintained an upward momentum in the first half of 2026. Nevertheless, to hit the year’s export target of USD 19 billion, Vietnam’s timber sector must ramp up efforts to expand overseas markets and build compliant, transparent supply chains aligned with sustainable development goals.

Statistics released by Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment show that Vietnam’s timber and wood product exports were projected to reach USD 1.53 billion in June 2026, lifting the total export value for the first six months to USD 8.54 billion, a year-on-year rise of 4.4% compared with the same period in 2025. The United States remains Vietnam’s top export destination for timber and wood products, accounting for nearly half of total exports. However, market performance has diverged sharply: Vietnam’s shipments of timber and wood products to the U.S. fell by 8% in the first five months of this year.

As one of the world’s top five timber exporters, Vietnam sells its timber and wood products to nearly 170 countries and territories. Yet Vietnam only captures 7% of global total timber import demand in terms of market share, signaling massive untapped growth potential in the international arena.

The biggest bottleneck hindering Vietnam’s timber industry at present is its overreliance on the U.S. market. With almost half of all export revenues concentrated in a single market, local enterprises remain highly vulnerable to shifts in U.S. trade policies. Accelerating market diversification has therefore become an urgent priority.

Many business leaders, including executives from Union Wood, hold an optimistic view. Amid a gradual recovery in global consumer demand, order books are now filled through the end of Q2 and even into Q3, marking a positive indicator. Orders are no longer the primary hurdle; the core challenge facing manufacturers lies in meeting rigorous international requirements covering legal timber sourcing, deforestation prevention, traceability and carbon emission reduction.

Nguyen Van Dien, Deputy Director General of Vietnam’s Forestry Administration and Forest Protection Department, stated that the domestic timber sector has secured a foothold in global markets thanks to proactive industry-wide initiatives to develop legal raw material supplies and expand forest areas certified under sustainable management schemes. He stressed that the industry needs to further scale up certified sustainably managed forests, guarantee the legality of raw materials, advance digitalization of timber traceability systems, and proactively comply with new regulations including the EU Deforestation-free Products Regulation (EUDR), the Lacey Act and carbon emission standards. These measures are not only mandatory to meet international market access thresholds but also present opportunities to boost the competitiveness of Vietnam’s forestry and timber sector.

To help the timber industry resolve developmental obstacles, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is collaborating with the Ministry of Finance to address various bottlenecks in the VAT refund process for primary processed wood goods, while refining implementation guidelines for EUDR compliance. Additionally, the ministry will roll out the National Plantation Forest Plot Code Program for 2026–2030, expanding pilot coverage to 15 to 20 key timber industry provinces, and integrate relevant data into the national forest database to satisfy traceability mandates set by importing markets.

Against the broader backdrop of a global trade shift toward green and sustainable development, market diversification, a robust compliant supply chain framework, and alignment with international green standards will constitute the key drivers for Vietnam’s timber sector to sustain export growth, capture larger global market share and break through existing developmental bottlenecks.