Plant large timber forests for good profit

​The delegation of provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and wood processing enterprises worked with Xuan Loc Protection Forest Management Board. Photo by Binh Nguyen

According to the Xuan Loc Protection Forest Management Board, the area of ​​production forest in district area is nearly 4.4 thousand hectares. In which, the area planted with acacia hybrid is nearly 3.2 thousand hectares, including 480 hectares directly produced by the Xuan Loc Protection Forest Management Board; 2 thousand hectares of contracted area for households; the rest area is associated with companies.

The pilot results of converting small timber plantation business into large timber show that this conversion brings high economic efficiency. Specifically, if exploiting acacia hybrid forest in the 4-5th year, only wood chippings can be sold, the value is about VND60-80 million per a hectare; average income is from VND10-12 million per a hectare per a year. In case it is converted into a large timber forest with a planting time of 10-12 years before harvesting, the timber value is about VND250 million per a hectare, the average profit is VND20 million per a hectare per a year. With this conversion, the investment costs are lower than that of small timber plantations because the next stage is mainly for forest protection instead of reforestation.

The delegation of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and wood processing enterprises surveyed planted forests in Xuan Loc District. Photo by Binh Nguyen

This working program serves as a premise for cooperation between timber production enterprises, Xuan Loc Protection Forest Management Board and forest growers in the district to convert small timber plantations to large timber plantations according to the supply chain. In which, enterprises participating in the linkage chain will support capital for forest growers to extend the cultivation time, harvested wood products are purchased by enterprises. The enterprise will particularly support the afforestation unit to certify FSC sustainable forests as required by many major export markets today.

Binh Nguyen