Building a sustainable ecosystem for the wood industry

​(News Portal – Dong Nai) - Large wood production but dependence on imported raw materials is one of the problems of the wood industry in the country as well as Dong Nai province. Meanwhile, most of the raw materials from planted forests in the country do not meet world quality and certification, partly making it difficult for sustainable development. 

Customers visit legal wood materials sold at Ho Nai Wood Wholesale Market

Building an "ecosystem" for wood production and processing is a long-term goal that Dong Nai as well as wood industry enterprises in the area are aiming for.
Wood production chain is the first step
Besides imported wood, planted forest wood materials also play a big role. However, in Dong Nai province, planted forests quality are not the same. The domestic raw material source is mainly small wood, with short exploitation cycles, most of which are taken from forests that do not have a sustainable forest development certificate (FSC). Meanwhile, the wood processing industry has an important position in the province's industry, the cooperation between forest planters and wood processing manufacturers is insufficient, making it difficult for businesses to proactively seeking raw materials. Prices are unstable, chain links are formed spontaneously and cannot participate in value chains.

In the Urban Agriculture Development Project in the Southwest region of Dong Nai province to 2020 with a vision to 2030, the development of wood material areas has been considered to be vital. Accordingly, the province proposes solutions to support farming households in developing large timber forests, such as mobilizing households that contract production forests shifting to planting large timber forests using tissue culture varieties. The province also provides support for tissue culture seed sources, training in planting techniques, forest care, and finding connections with wood processing enterprises in the province to place wood material orders for participating households.

Dong Nai is also expanding the raw material production areas, which are large timber forest plantations and forest plantations with FSC sustainable forest management certification, to meet standards for wood processing for export from 7 thousand hectares that have been certified at the La Nga - Dong Nai Forestry Company Limited to more than 10 thousand hectares out of the total area of 40 thousand hectares of existing planted forests in the province. At Xuan Loc Protection Forest Management Board, it is also coordinating with Tan Vinh Cuu Joint Stock Company (Bien Hoa City) to obtain FSC certification, thereby increasing the value of wood materials. 

According to Mr. Le Van Goi, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the connection between afforestation material areas and manufacturers is very important. Therefore, it is necessary to connect wood processing enterprises with small afforestation organizations and households to invest in developing large raw material areas meeting FSC standards associated with processing and consuming wood products. In the coming time, Dong Nai province encourages and supports processing enterprises to cooperate with households and large afforestation organizations in the area to achieve this goal.

Establishing legal and high quality raw material production areas  

Currently in Dong Nai province, there are over 900 wood processing enterprises, including about 180 enterprises that both process and export. There are 140 wood processing and exporting enterprises classified in group I as announced by the Forest Protection Department nationwide, while Dong Nai province has 30 enterprises (accounting for 21%) of the total number of enterprises in this group. According to the general trend, more and more wood processing enterprises will strive to enter group I, which will boost the demand for wood of legal origin. This will benefit all parties involved: businesses, people participating in afforestation, wood processing businesses; and it will enhance the reputation and position of the province and the country in the international wood market. 

According to Ms. Nguyen Nam Tran, Executive Director of Certification Services and Systems of SGS Vietnam (a Swiss global organization), the international trend of sustainable supply chains for forest wood products is mandatory today. With Dong Nai's potential forest advantages, FSC certification is an extremely important factor contributing to sustainable management of forest resources and improving forest economic efficiency for local communities. At the same time, it is an opportunity to affirm the brand value of forest products and handicrafts in the wood industry of Dong Nai nationwide and in the international market. SGS Vietnam is ready to support businesses and forest planters in training, related knowledge and skills, not only in raw material production but also in other fields aimed at sustainable production.

Similarly, Mr. Vo Quang Ha, Vice Chairman of Dong Nai Wood Association (Dowa), Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tan Vinh Cuu Joint Stock Company, said that the company was trying to connect the wood industry, from raw material suppliers to manufacturers and product distributors. Through this program, forest planters will be supported in obtaining FSC sustainable forest certification as required by many major export markets today. The enterprise will also advance investment capital for planters to convert from small wood forests to large wood forests, deducting investment costs when harvesting to create trust in cooperation.