According to Vietnam Forestry Administration (VNFOREST) in the first 6 months of 2021, about 658 million seedlings of all planting species have been propagated to meet the national planting target defined for 2021. To date the area of newly planted forest is 108,258 hectares or 41.6% of the year plan and over 20% up on the first half of last year. In particular, under the project ‘plant, 1 billion trees’ over 48.5 million trees have been planted. By the middle of 2021 sustainable forest management certificates had been granted over 306,726 ha of forest (including both FSC and VFCS/PEFC certificate schemes) of which the forest area was certified by the VFCS (Vietnam Forest Certificate Scheme) is 55,002 ha. In the first half of the year, the volume of timber harvested from domestic forests is 6.8 million cu.m, equal to 32% of the year plan and 114% over the same period in 2020. The export value of wooden and non-wood forest products in the first 6 months of 2021 amounted to US$8.71 billion, up 62% over the same period in 2020 and included wood products US$6.35 billion, up 75% and non-wood forest products US$0.6 billion, up 73%. It is forecast that in 2021 the export earnings from W&WP and non-wood forest products will be around US$15.5 – 16.0 billion, a year-on-year growth of between 17 - 20%. Imports of W&WP in the first 6 months of 2021 were valued at US$1.54 billion, up 39% over the same period of last year when imports of wood raw materials was US$1.15 billion. In the first half of 2021 government income from the payment for forest ecosystem service (PFES) increased by 67% over the same period of 2020. VND 1,431.7 billion (about US$65 million) was collected through PFES. Most of this money is distributed to upland dwellers as payment for their contribution to catchment/watershed forest protection.
Drewry has announced that out of the total of 496 scheduled sailings across the major trades in Transpacific, Transatlantic, and Asia-North Europe & Mediterranean, 24 canceled sailings have been announced between weeks 31 and 34, representing a 5% cancellation rate. The following weekly Cancelled Sailings Tracker of Drewry provides a snapshot of blank sailings announced by each container shipping Alliance versus the total number of scheduled sailings. Over the next 4 weeks, The Alliance, comprising Hapag - Lloyd, Ocean Network Express (ONE), Yang Ming, and HMM, has announced 11.5 cancellations, followed by 2M Alliance of Maersk and MSC and Ocean Alliance, which includes CMA CGM, COSCO, and Evergreen, with 7 and 5.5 cancellations, respectively, according to Drewry. Additionally, the summer peak season is now adding further stress to an already overwhelmed supply chain. "With carriers cutting weekly contract allocations, shippers and BCO’s find themselves having to accept the very high rates and various additional premiums to stand any chance of their cargo being loaded on time," noted Drewry.
Drewry's World Container Index showed a 4% increase or $344 to $9,330.28 per FEU (40-foot container unit) on July 29, compared with a week before. At the end of June, the index stood at 8,399.09 USD/FEU, equivalent to an increase of nearly 1,000 USD/FEU compared to the previous month. Drewry said freight rates have increased particularly sharply on routes from Asia to both the East and West coasts of the US. Short-term freight rates from Shanghai to New York increased 13% or $1,562 at $13,434/FEU, while rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles increased 6%, or $550, to $10,503/FEU. Although rates are already 368% higher than a year ago on average, they are forecast to continue to rise. “Drewry expects freight rates to rise further in the coming weeks,” the analyst said. FOMEX GROUP