IMPORT PLYWOOD FROM VIETNAM - 5 THINGS ABOUT VIETNAMESE PLYWOOD

Vietnamese plywood's main market is the US, Korea, Japan and Malaysia. Especially the USA market is a new increased market and becomes the top 1 market of Vietnam plywood exported value recently. Main plywood from Vietnam is: Film faced plywood, Commercial plywood, Packing plywood, Birch plywood, and LVL.

5 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE IMPORTING PLYWOOD FROM VIETNAM

1/ Plywood industry in Vietnam

1.1 Market share

List of importing markets for plywood exported by Vietnam

Product: HS code 4412 Plywood, veneered panel and similar laminated wood (excluding sheets of compressed wood, cellular ...)

Source: Trademap.org

In 2020, the export value of Vietnam plywood reach 714 mil USD, which increased 2.5 times after 5 years from 2016-2020. That you can see the potential of Vietnam Plywood.

The top 5 markets for Vietnamese Plywood includes The United State of America, Korea, Malaysia, Japan, and Thailand.

In 2020, the United State of America is the biggest market for Vietnam plywood, imported 292 mil USD of plywood from Vietnam, it has been increased from 8.6 mils in 2016 to 292 mil in 2020. The reason for this dramatic increase is the U.S anti-Dumping Duties on China. And a part of the supply chain of plywood from China to the US market has moved to Vietnam recently. Expected that the export value of Vietnamese plywood would continue being increasing in 2021.

Source: Trademap.org

Korea, Malaysia and Japan are traditional markets of Vietnamese plywood, which are stable import from Vietnam annually, and these three countries have always been in the top 5 Vietnam plywood markets in the last 5 years.

>>> 5 Reasons why Vietnamese plywood is popular in Korea

1.2 Vietnamese plywood type

FILM FACED PLYWOOD

Film-faced plywood is one of the advantages of Vietnam, they’re mainly used for concrete formwork. And that is the advantage of Vietnam as the input material for making Vietnam plywood is mainly Acacia that makes the plywood panel be stronger than others. Vietnam film faced plywood with many grade quality can meet the requirement of clients from all over the world.

>> 5 Reasons why Vietnam Film Faced Plywood is good for construction uses <<

vietnam film faced plywood classification fomex group

>> Others applications of Film faced Plywood <<

COMMERCIAL PLYWOOD

Vietnam Commercial Plywood can be used widely in many fields: construction, packaging, furniture, … with many qualities from standard to high-end quality.

Grade: AA, AB, BB.
Face/Back: Bintagor, Oukume, sepele, Birch, Oak, Melamine,…
Core: Rubber, Eucalyptus, Acacia, Mixed Hardwood,…
Glue: Moisture Resistance (E0, E1, E2) / WBP Melamine
Hot-press: 2 times

Vietnamese Commercial Plywood Bintangor Face (Source: Fomex Quality Control Department)

>> The Diversity of Vietnam Commercial Plywood

PACKING PLYWOOD

Vietnamese packing plywood is mainly used in the packaging industry, such as making crates, pallets, … some of the customers use it as formwork.
This is a cheap plywood option for low-requirement use. What makes packing plywood cheap is the quality of the materials and the simple production process, thus the quality of packing plywood is not the same as commercial plywood.

Grade: AB, BC
Face/Back: Bintagor/Oukume/styrax
Core: Rubber, Eucalyptus, Acacia, Mixed Hardwood,…
Hot-press: 1 time

LAMINATED VENEER LUMBER (LVL)

LVL is a type of plywood from Vietnam, the main market for Vietnamese LVL is Korea, Japan, and Malaysia.

Grade: Furniture Grade/Packaging grade
Core: Eucalyptus, Acacia, Mixed Hardwood,…
Face/Back: No-face/back, Styrax, Pine, ….
Hot-press: 1 time

The application of Vietnamese LVL is: Making Furniture, Building, Pallets, Crate,…

2/ Advantage of Vietnamese Plywood

Vietnam plywood with the advantage of hardwood source with many species such as: Acacia, Eucalyptus, Ruber, Styrax,… the plant forest in Vietnam is around 14.6 million Hectare that can meet a huge demand in country and area.
The export tax of plywood from Vietnam is 0%, and also low import tax&duty to any country is one of the advantages when importing plywood from Vietnam.

3/ Vietnamese plywood price

Vietnam plywood type is diverse so the price of Vietnamese plywood is diverse also. The price range of Vietnamese plywood is from 220 USD to 600 USD FOB, Haiphong port, Vietnam, depending on the quality requirement and the market price.

>> 4 Reasons why Vietnam plywood price is Soaring<<

4/ Vietnamese plywood characteristics

Structure
Core: Acacia, Eucalyptus, Rubber, Pine …
Face/Back: Film faced, Bintagor, Okoume, Pine, Birch, Sapele, Melamine, Oak, Ash, Walnut.
Glue: MR (E0, E1,E2), WBP (Phenol, Melamine)
Main size: 3”x6”, 4’x8’ (1220x2440)

Production Technology: Automation in production is unpopular, the production process is mainly made by many workers.

>> Common Practical uses of Vietnam Plywood <<

5/ Common problems of plywood from Vietnam

Excessive voids in the core
Veneer overlap
Formaldehyde emission
Certificate

Daniel,
FOMEX GROUP