The Vietnam Association of Wood and Forest Products (Vifores) has just issued a written response to Official Letter No. 2567 / BKHDT-PT of the Ministry of Planning and Investment on April 20, 2020 on proposing solutions to remove difficulties. – Promoting production and business – Restarting the economy to cope with COVID-19 epidemic.
Specifically, in order for the industry to recover after the Vietnam Association of Timber and Forest Products Association is short-term, the Government and the State Bank of Vietnam should take measures to remove obstacles and documents proving damage. income reduction … of businesses affected by the COVID-19 epidemic with commercial banks under the provisions of Circular 01.
Because many timber enterprises are still in the situation of waiting for banks to review documents to reduce interest rates, restructure the repayment term for loans even though the State Bank has issued Circular 01 on reducing interest rates. productivity.
Besides, Vifores proposed to the Government and the Ministry of Finance to consider exempting export tax of 25% for embryo sawn timber products originating from raw materials imported from countries with good forest governance; exemption of export of woodchips for businesses from March to December 2020.
At the same time, it is necessary to quickly implement the support package of 50% of the minimum wage for workers temporarily losing their jobs due to epidemics and giving interest-free loans to enterprises to pay the remaining 50% to preserve the production forces of the industry wood processing industry.
Regarding the medium and long-term solution, the Association thinks that it is necessary to have policies to promote the chain link in order to better meet the needs of domestic furniture and interior decoration. Promote and prioritize products of handicraft villages, especially those from planted forests.
Developing a separate communication program, focusing on plantation timber, legal and domestic supply of raw materials; focus on developing mechanisms to support small and micro enterprises, including sawmills, the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association recommends in the document.
In addition, this industry also proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to have projects to promote e-commerce and promote online sales.
At the same time, according to Vifores on a global scale, the kitchen, bathroom and vanity furniture groups currently account for about 60% of the total demand of all wood furniture in the world. The remaining 40% includes office furniture, outdoor furniture, etc.
Therefore, State and provincial authorities should consider when approving FDI projects to avoid the situation where FDI enterprises invest too much in these strategic product lines to take advantage of resources and labor. in Vietnam and losing market share of Vietnamese timber enterprises.
At the same time, in the upcoming forestry sector development strategy, it is necessary to have policies to prioritize the development of supporting industries to minimize dependence on foreign countries.
Data from the Vietnam Association of Wood and Forest Products shows that in the first quarter of 2020, Vietnam's export turnover of timber and wood products reached more than US $ 2.57 billion, an increase of nearly 14% compared to the first quarter of 2019.
The growth in exports of wood and wood products in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the first quarter of 2019 is due to enterprises exporting according to orders of 2019. Demand for paper products in the world soar, Chinese enterprises increase Cuong imports wood chips from Vietnam.
However, in the first 15 days of April 2020, the export of wood and wood products only reached 323 million USD, down 44% from the same period last year and down 22.2% compared to the first 15 days of March 2020. In which, export of wooden products has decreased by 33.35% over the same period last year.
According to Vifores, these are initial figures reflecting the impact of the disease on the industry and it is expected that in April the export turnover of wood products will be only about 50%, by May to 30% and by June and July. will fall even further due to no orders.
Due to the pandemic, orders dropped by more than 50%, many businesses have now closed because they did not receive any orders in April, such as Govina Company in Bac Giang, … Some companies have announced to sell factories such as Kim Sen Company, BHL Tan Son …, the Wood and Forest Products Association said.
According to Economy & Consumer
