Vietnam exported 2.6 million tons of wood pellets, worth $345.5 million, in the first six months of the year, figures from the Forest Trends Organization show.
The figures represent a year-on-year increase of 25.9% in volume and 4.6% in value.
Japan and South Korea are Vietnam’s two major export markets, accounting for 92% and 89.9% of the total quantity and revenue, respectively.
Wood pellets exported to Korea are mainly made from the by-products of the wood processing industry such as sawdust, shavings, and wood chips.
Enterprises exporting pellets to Korea are mainly located in the Southeast region, where furniture factories are concentrated.
Pellets exported to Japan have to be made from domestic plantation timber with FSC certificate. This material is only available where there are large regions of plantation forests, especially from the Central region to the North of Vietnam.
The EU is the third largest market with a shipment of 48,600 tons of wood pellets during the six-month period, worth $9.5 million, accounting for 1.9% and 2.8% of the total export volume and value, respectively.
There are currently 83 businesses directly involving in wood pellet exports with over 300 production facilities nationwide in Vietnam.
Vietnam has become the second largest wood pellet producer in the world, only after the United States.
Vietnam exported 2.6 million tons of wood pellets in H1
