Vietnam’s furniture exports are expected to rise 10 percent to US$3 billion in 2010, following slight declines this year, an industry official said.

Nguyen Ton Quyen, secretary general of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association, was quoted by the Vietnam Economic Times as saying that local exporters have begun to receive more orders for 2010, especially from the US, “the most important market for Vietnamese wood products.”

Despite many difficulties, including price drops, furniture exports are still expected to reach $2.7 billion this year, down only $100 million from 2008, Quyen said.

Although the estimate is lower than a full-year target of $3 billion, Quyen said it was still much better than the declines of up to 15 percent earlier this year.

However, Quyen warned that local exporters could face a lot of new challenges next year as many markets try to set higher quality standards on Vietnamese wood products.

Last year, Vietnam’s wood industry missed its target for the first time in eight years as its exports totaled only $2.8 billion against a target of $3.2 billion.

Source: VNBusinessNews

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