Wood chips are produced mainly from short-cycle forest plantations, most commonly Acacia and Eucalyptus. These trees are grown and harvested according to sustainable forest management processes, ensuring a stable and environmentally friendly source of raw materials. Green Energy’s wood chip factory has achieved international certifications such as FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), meeting the strict requirements of the global market.

Wood chips and pellets. According to the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association (Viforest), in 2023, although Vietnam’s wood industry faced many difficulties because consumers tightened their spending, the export of “wood chips,” including wood chips and pellets, still brought in nearly 2.9 billion USD.

Specifically, in 2023, Vietnam exported nearly 14.42 million tons of wood chips with a value of 2.22 billion USD (down 8.8% in volume and 20.4% in value compared to 2022), accounting for about 16.8% of the total export turnover of the entire wood industry.

Regarding wood pellets, in 2023, our country exported 4.67 million tons, earning nearly 680 million USD (down 4.3% in volume and 13.7% in value compared to 2022), accounting for 5.2% of the total export turnover of the wood industry.

Unit: %. Chart: MH

In fact, Vietnam’s wood chip products were exported to 13 markets in 2023.  Of which, China and Japan are the two largest import markets of our country, accounting for 92.4% of total output and 92.2% of total export value.

Vietnam’s wood pellets were exported to 22 countries and territories last year. Notably, Japan and South Korea remained the two largest importers of this item. Accordingly, Japan imported more than 2.8 million tons of pellets, worth 438 million USD, up 12.4% in volume and 14.3% in value compared to 2022. South Korea imported more than 1.7 million tons of pellets, worth nearly 214 million USD, down 24.5% in volume and down 43.3% in value compared to 2022.

Potential items in 2024

Vietnam’s wood chips are currently exported to 13 countries around the world. Illustrative photo.

According to the Forestry Department, in 2023, the entire wood industry will exploit about 19 million steres of firewood (a unit of volume of firewood). This is the main input material for the production of wood chips and pellets in our country. In addition, by-products of the wood processing and manufacturing industry, such as scraps, chips, sawdust, shavings, etc., are used to produce wood chips and pellets.

From the beginning of 2024, wood exports also had a strong recovery. As evidenced by the fact that in January 2024, wood chip exports reached 217.5 million USD, an increase of about 21.7% over the same period last year. Our country’s wood pellet exports reached 73.5 million USD, an increase of 24.1%.

According to experts, our country’s wood chips and wood pellets still have a lot of potential and room for development. In particular, the export turnover of wood pellets can reach 1 billion USD in the near future.

Wood pellets from our country are imported by many countries around the world. Illustration photo