Vietnam shipped abroad, mainly to the European Union and the United States, wood-based products totaling 922 million U.S. dollars in the first half of this year, up 25.8 percent against the same period last year, a trade agency said on Tuesday.

Woodwork producers in Vietnam are seeking more material suppliers, tapping traditional export markets, and penetrating into new ones, said the Wood and Forest Products Processing Association, predicting their total export turnovers will be 1.8-2 billion dollars in 2006.

Some 1,200 woodwork enterprises in the country are able to process 2.5-3 million cubic meters of wood annually, but domestic supplies can only meet nearly 20 percent of the demand, the association said.

In addition to such key markets as the European Union, the United States, Japan and China's Taiwan, woodwork companies in Vietnam are intensifying exportation of their products, including tables, chairs, beds and wardrobes, to potential markets such as Canada, Russia and East Europe.

To facilitate woodwork production and export, relevant companies in Vietnam should establish material wholesale markets in the northern, central and southern regions, and join hands with one another in specializing in a specific phase of the process of turning out a certain finished product, the association said.

Vietnam earned woodwork export turnovers of nearly 1.6 billion dollars in 2005, up from 1.1 billion dollars in 2004 and 560 million dollars in 2003. Its wood-based products are now available in 120 countries and regions, according to the association.

Source: Xinhua