HCMCity (VNA) – Vietnam and Cambodia should intensify cooperation in monitoringtheir export and import of timber and wood products, thus minimising illegaltimber trading at border areas, heard a dialogue held in Ho Chi Minh City onOctober 22.

The event was jointly organised by the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VAF)of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the ForestryAdministration (FA) of Cambodia.

Deputy General Director of the VAF Pham Van Dien said that ensuring timber rawmaterials hold legal origin certificates is one of the key measures in Vietnam’sdevelopment policy for the wood processing and export industry, adding that importedwood has helped add raw materials, contributing to the increasing value of woodexports.

Vietnam’swood processing industry has developed rapidly and stably in recent years. In2017, Vietnam became the world’s fifth largest wood exporter and the secondbiggest in Asia, with an export turnover of over 8 billion USD, according toDien.

Bui Chinh Nghia, also from the VAF, said last year, the processing andexporting of wood products of Vietnam used about 31 million cu.m of timber,including about 7 million cu.m worth 2.19 billion USD imported. In the firsteight months of 2018, Vietnam imported 1.3 billion USD worth of raw materialtimber, with Cambodia the third largest supplier, after China and the US.

According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, the importturnover of wood and wood products from Cambodia totaled over 213 million USDin 2017 and 84 million USD in the first nine months of 2018.

In contrast, Cambodia is also oneof the export markets for Vietnamese wood and wood products, with the exportturnover tending to increase. Vietnam earned 8.27 million USD from exportingits wood and wood products to Cambodia in 2017, and the figure hit 8.41 millionUSD in the Jan-August period of 2018.

So Lorn, Deputy General Director of Forest Industry and International CooperationDepartment under the FA, saidthat Vietnam and his country should boost cooperation and investment in exploitingand processing timber in Cambodia, while sharing information on markets, businesses,and wood products.

The two countries share more than1,100km of borderline, stretching across 10 provinces of Vietnam and nineprovinces of Cambodia. Therefore, the trade exchange between the two sides throughborder gates is quite favourable. However, this also poses a challenge forcontrolling illegal trade, especially of forestry products.

Dien said to prevent the illegal cross-border timber exploitation and transport,Vietnam and Cambodia have promulgated and perfected relevant institutions andlegal documents. The two sides have regularly coordinated in implementing thesigned memorandum of understanding on forestry cooperation, especially in forestmanagement and trade in forest products.

Participants said in order to legitimize the trading of timber and wood productsbetween Vietnam and Cambodia in a sustainable fashion, the two countries shouldjoin hands to fight and deal with illegal timber trading and apply a legaltimber traceability system.


The two countries also need to workclosely in border control activities to protect forest resources and ensure thesustainability of their timber exploitation, processing and export industries,they stressed.–VNA