Báo cáo nghiên cứu khoa học " Developing an Agricultural Research and Development Priority Framework for Vietnam Forestry Sub-Sector Workshop" potx

Developing an Agricultural Research
and Development Priority
Framework
for Vietnam
Forestry Sub-Sector Workshop
Data and Information Sheets:
Areas of Research & Development
Opportunity (ARDOs)

ARDO 1.

Large Timber Production

ARDO 2.

Pulp and Small Log Products

ARDO 3.

Bamboo and Rattan

ARDO 4.

Non Timber Forest Products

ARDO 5.

Bio-diversity and Conservation

ARDO 6.

Environment and Services

ARDO 7.

Forest Policy

June 2007


1

ARDO 1.
1.

Large Timber Production

ARDO DEFINITION

1.1.
National Goal: Enhance the provision of large timber from natural forests and
plantations to meet the needs of the wood processing and furniture industries to increase
exports and national use of domestically produced timber, and reduce the import of
timber.
1.2.
Research scope: Research to improve productivity and quality of timber from
natural and plantation forests; selection of species, tree improvement, planning and sitespecies specification; improvement of silviculture techniques, harvesting, wood
treatment and processing techniques and marketing of timber and products of timber;
sustainable forest management practices.
1.3.

Coverage: 

Natural forests: native tree species commonly harvested with a focus on less
known/less used species.



Plantations: Acacia spp. (especially focus on A. auriculiformis); Eucalyptus spp.;
Pinus spp. (especially Pinus caribea); indigenous species: Hopea odorata,
Dipterocarpus alatus, Parashorea cochinchinensis, Anisoptera spp. , Prumus
arborea, Canarium spp., Endospermum chinesis, Cinamomum spp., Quercus
wallichiana, Melia azedarach

2.

INDUSTRY STATISTICS

2.1

Introduction

Forests of Vietnam have high potential but inappropriate use and poor management
systems have steadily decreased the forest resource. Because of incorrect recognition of
the content and philosophy of forestry management, many mistakes in the past
concerning the policies and conception in development, utilization and sector
organization have been made. The forestry sector policy has gone from the extreme of
harvesting (with the recognition that forest resources are endless) to the other extreme
of suspension of the logging (focus only on forest protection and development). The
consequences of mistaken in forestry sector are: (i) Yield and productivity of natural
forests have decreased gradually and do not correlate with their natural potential; (ii)

Productivity of plantation forests is low and ineffective; (iii) Forests do not meet the
demand of processing industries.
The growth and contribution of the forestry sector to GDP is relatively low and
continues to fall as a percentage of GDP.
In recent years the Forestry sector of Vietnam has experienced:

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


2


Natural forests being restored (e.g. from 1995 to 2005, approximately 2 million ha
restored);



Area of plantations has gradually increased increasing the forest cover from
27.2% in 1990 to 36.7% in 2004.



Harvest yield of wood from plantations increased by an estimated 2.5 million m³
per year of which 1 million m³ is from plantations and the remainder from home
gardens and scattered planting, providing raw materials for industry, and reducing
pressure on natural forests.



Wood processing industries and forest products to export are rapidly developing
in the recent years, giving an important contribution to export turn over of the
country.

However:


Area, quality and bio-diversity of natural forests is still declining mainly due to
conversion of forest to other land uses and unsustainable harvesting practices.



Productivity, profit and competition ability is weak.



Timber yields from natural forests has decreased from 2 million m³ per year in
1990s to 700,000 m³ per year in 2000s and 300,000 m³ in year 2003 and at present
is only 200,000 m³ per year.



Plantation forestry does not yet provide the raw material needs of industries and
exports.



80-90% of wood for production of export products is imported.



Wood processing industry although rapidly developing, lacks a long term strategy,
is not competitive and suffers from a lack of material resource.

2.2.

Industry Characteristics and Prospects



Forestry sector has created a lot of employment and enhanced income for millions
of people living in and around the forests.

2.3.

Forestry activities have been transferring from mainly state forestry into social
forestry with increasingly participation of non governmental stakeholders.

Development Targets

General Goal to 2020 is to establish, protect, manage and sustainably develop 14.3
million ha of forest land through participation and mobilization of stakeholders in
forestry development and to contribute to social and economic development,
environmental conservation; poverty alleviation, and to increase the living standard of
communities and people living in and around forests.
Projected forest and forest land (million ha)
Land type

2004

2010

2020

Total area planned as forest land

16,2

16,2

16,2

1. Permanent state forest area

12,3

14,0

14,3

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


3

a. Protection forest

5,9

5,7

5,7

b. Special used forest

1,9

2,3

2,3

c. Production forest

4,5

6,0

6,3

2. Other production forest

-

-

1,9

3. Non forested forest land

3,9

2,2

0

Forest coverage (%)

36,7

43

43

Specific Development Objectives:


4-5% growth of forestry production per year;



Maintain permanent production forest of 2.3-2.4 million ha of man-made-forests
and 4 million ha of natural forests;



Plant 200 million scatted trees per year.



Produce about 20 million m³ of timber per year (of which 10 million m³ is from
large timber) and 25-26 million m³ of fuel wood, (meaning 45-46 million m3 in
total);



Increase export of forest products to 4 billion US$;



Other forest services reach to 2 billion US$ in the year 2020.



More than 30% of production forest areas have been certificated.



Create employment for more than 2 million people (including labour in wood
processing industries and handicraft);



Increase of income, contribution to poverty alleviation of 70% of poor households
in forestry region;



Completion of forest and forest land allocation and tenure to owners before 2010;



Enhancing the knowledge and skills of labour especially for upland farmers and
poor groups.

On an ecological zone basis the development strategy is:
(1) Northern mountainous zone:


Sub-zone: North-west (Hồ Bình, Sơn La, Điện Biên, Lai Châu): (i)
Establishment and consolidation of protection forest system in Da river
watershed; (ii) Establishment of material zone for wood and NTFP processing
industries, focus on China market.



Sub-zone: North-east (Bắc Cạn, Bắc Giang, Bắc Ninh, Cao Bằng, Hà Giang,
Lạng Sơn, Lao Cai, Quảng Ninh, Thái Nguyên, Tuyên Quang, Vĩnh Phú, Yên
Bái): (i) Establishment of material zone link to processing industries based on
1.5 million ha of intensive forest plantation; (ii) Establishing a industrialcommercial zone of forest products in triangle of Hà Nội-Hải Phòng-Quảng
Ninh; developing traditional villages of wood based handicraft. Strengthening
export, focus on China market. (iii) Establishment and consolidation of
systems of protection and special use forests in the sub-zone.

(2) Red river delta

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


4


(Hà Nam, Hà Nội, Hà Tây, Hải Dương, Hải Phòng, Hưng Yên, Nam Định,
Ninh Bình, Thái Bình): (i) Establishment and consolidation of protection
forest along the sea and around the big cities, planting of scattered trees; (ii)
Development of traditional villages with wood based handicraft; (iii)
Consolidation and protection the existing national parks, such as Cúc Phương,
Ba Vì, Cát Bà, Xuân Thuỷ

(3) North- Central


(Thanh Hố, Nghệ An, Hà Tỉnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên-Huế):
(i) Establishment and consolidation of protection forest along the sea, moving
sand areas and in watershed; (ii) Consolidation, protection and development
of existing national parks like: Pù Mát, Vụ Quang, Bến Én, Bạch Mã, Phong
Nha-Kẻ Bàng; (iii) Development of wood and NTFP material zone link to
local processing industries.

(4) Central Coast


(Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, Bình Định, Phú n, Khánh Hịa, Bình
Thuận, Ninh Thuận): (i) Concentration on protection forest in watershed and
along the sea; (ii) Development of material zone to link with the industrial
grove: Chu Lai-Qui Nhơn Đà Nẵng; (iii) Development of arid forest system in

Ninh Thuận và Bình Thuận.

(5) Central Highlands


(Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Đak Lak, Đak Nông, Lâm Đồng): (i) Establishment of
production zone for proving large timber and consolidation of protection
forest in watershed region; (ii) Development of industrial grove Buôn Ma
Thuột, Buôn Hồ, Pleiku, An Khê

(6) South-east


(Bad Raving Tao, Bin Phước, Bình Dương, Đồng Nai, Hồ Chí Minh city, Tây
Ninh): (i) Strengthening forest product processing in the zone and intensive
forestation to provide materials for industrial-commercial zone: Hồ Chí Minh
city-Biên Hồ-Bình Dương-Vũng Tàu and pulp material industry Tân Mai,
Đồng Nai; (ii) Consolidation of protection forest in watershed of important
hydroelectric plants like: Trị An, Dầu Tiếng, Thác Mơ; conservation of
biodiversity in national parks.

(7) Mekong river delta


(Long An, Vĩnh Long, Tiền Giang, Bến Tre, Cần Thơ, Hậu Giang, Sóc Trăng,
Trà Vinh, An Giang, Bạc Liêu, Đồng Tháp, Cà Mau): (i) Protection,
rehabilitation and development of mangrove forest; (ii) planting scattered
trees

Growing Areas and Yields

Up to now,Vietnam has about 2.2 million ha of planted forests; approximately 59% of
which are production forests.
Distribution of production “man made forest” by areas is as follows (Pham Dinh Tam,
2005):
- Northern mountainous zone: 35,325 ha

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


5

-

North- Central: 257,331 ha
Central Coast: 286,178 ha
Central Highlands: 23,468 ha
South-east: 53,182 ha
Others zone: 216.796 ha

The proportion of planted species is:
- Pinus spp. : 14,82%
- Acacia spp.: 15,50%
- Eucalyptus spp.: 23,65%
- Styrax tonkinensis: 4,34%
- Others (lesser than 4%): 41,69%
All most production plantations were established for materials and small wood purpose,
the percentage of large trees was very low and mostly planted for protection forests.
Production

Average yield of some eatablished plantation:
- Acacia plantation: 18-25 m3/ha/a
- Eucalyptus camadulensis: 18-20 m3/ha/a
- E. europhylla: 20-30 m3/ha/a
- Pinus merkusii: 15 m3/ha/a
- Pinus kesya: 15 m3/ha/a
- Styrax tonkinensis: 13,5 m3/ha/a
- Manglietia conifera: 11 m3/ha/a
Value and Markets
Value of wood products and NTFP exports (million US$)
Products

1996

1997

19989

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

Timber

61,0

-

108,0

-

219,0

334,0

435,0

567,0

1034,0

1500,0

NTFPs

-

-

-

78,4

98,3

108,3

138,6

154,7

198,1

87,9*

Source: Phan Sinh., Department of Industry and Trade & Statistic, General
Department of customers 7/2005 (* Data of the first 5 months of 2005).
Comparative Advantage





High Potential of physical conditions (climate, soils) offer higher growth rates of production
forests.
Low labour costs have competitive advantages over other countries.
Capacity of research and technology transfer institutions is big offering possibilities for
Vietnam’s sawmills and wood processing enterprises to improve their competitive abilities..
Production establishments and households have capacity and willingness to apply new

technologies to enhance forest productivity.

Government Policies
The policies which are mostly related to large timber production are:


Land law (review in 2003);



Forest protection and development law (review in 2004);

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


6


Policies on forest and forest land allocation and tenure;



Decision 178 about Rights and duties of households and individuals with forest
allocation.



Decision 186/2006/QĐ-TTg dated 14/8/2006 of Prim minister on regulation for forest

management.

3.

Industry Analysis

3.1.

Structure

Households and Size of Holdings
Forest enterprises (wood production):


In the 1960s, almost forests of Vietnam were under the management of state forest
enterprises (SFEs). In the early 1990s there were 413 SFEs, of which 138 reported to
district Governments, 199 to provincial Governments, the remaining 76 larger SFEs
reported directly to central Government. These SFEs together controlled 6.3 million
ha of forest land and conducted logging operations on 150,000 ha each year. As a
result, they have contributed substantially to the degradation of forest resource. By
1996 about half of SFEs had run out of forests to exploit and most were
uneconomical and the Government initiated a nationwide program for all SFEs.



The changes envision forest management increasingly to be taken over by non
government managers and much of land held by SFEs is to be allocated to non
government landholders or the rights to use will be contracted out to other users. In
1997, commercial logging was suspended in 300 SFEs, according to the Decision
187/1999/QD-TTg from September 1999, and Political Bureau Resolution 28NQ/TW from 16 June 2003 on the arrangement, renovation and development of State

Farm and Forest Enterprises,



SFEs are to be reformed into four types of organizations:
1. Forest service enterprise, that support forestation, management and protection
activities undertaken by households;
2. Forest exploitation and processing enterprise that are economically profitable;
3. Forest industry groups;
4. Environmental protection enterprises.



SFEs continue to manage important stretches of forest land in Vietnam. Much of this
land is supposed to be contracted out for forest protection or reforestation.



At present, only approximately 32% of forests are managed by households; this
proportion will be enhanced up to 80% by the year 2020 according to the forestry
sector strategy of period: 2006-2020.



Most of large timber used for commercial production comes from natural forest, the
contribution of plantations on large timber is very low. The situation should be
improved by intensive investments for the research areas.

3.2

Supporting Infrastructure

Wood processing industry:


There are approximately 1,200 of wood processing enterprises, of which:

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


7

a. State enterprises under MARD occupy10,3%
b. Joint-venture and 100% foreign funded enterprises, occupy 3, 3%.
c. Enterprises belonging to provinces, occupy 20, 8%.
d. Non state enterprises, occupied 65.6%. (No information is available about
the contribution of each in terms of volumes produced).


Most enterprises are in the south-east (367); with others being in Red river delta
(189); North central (170); Coast central (161); Central highlands (153); Mekong
river delta (88) and North West (11).



Most of wood processing establishments have old, underdeveloped technologies
mainly using equipment imported from China, East European or domestic made.



Machinery is focused on sawmill operations creating semi-finished products, the
other operations are mainly handicraft.



Some wood processing establishments have had intensive investment to improve
technologies and equipment to enhance the quality of products, but as yet this is only
on small scale and has little impact on the ability produce a large number of products
and to be regionally competitive.



The infrastructure development is at a low level and is not yet optimal for suitable
flow of raw materials to processing establishments.



3.3. Markets



Value added products have gradually become more and more diversified and
abundant and the quality of products is improved, step by step towards satisfying the
requirements of domestic and export markets.



Handicraft products are mostly made of natural forest timber and the use of timber

for handicrafts from plantation is still limited.



Main markets for wood based products made in Vietnam China, Taiwan, Korea,
Japan, European, America, Canada, but these markets are not yet stablised due to low
volumes of exports, model and quality and continuity of supply of products is not
consistent. The commercial promotion of Vietnam wood products through
exhibitions and trade fairs and advertisement is limited.



Competition for Vietnam’s wood products is likely to increase due to economic
globalization especially after WTO membership and this will create constraints,
challenges and opportunities for the forestry sector and wood processing industries of
Vietnam.

3.4.

Future Trends and Key Market Issues
2003
3

Demand (1000 m )

4.561

2005

2010

5.378

2015
8.030

10.266

2020
11.993

Domestic supply

3.700

10.000

Import

4.300

2.000

Source: National Forestry development strategy period 2006-2020 (4th draft April,
2006).

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets

8

4.

R&D Information

4.1.

Main Research Areas











Forest sector analysis and forecast the development trends of forest product
processing industries and the supply/ demand gaps in the world and in Vietnam.
Planning and selection priority areas for intensive production of large timber.
Research to improve policies on forest land allocation/tenure, benefit sharing,
financial incentives and other supports to land owners.
Research to develop system of sustainable harvesting techniques and forest
restoration after logging.
Research to develop silvicultural techniques for reclamation of degraded forest in
intensive direction.
Research to define the main economic tree species providing large timber in each

ecological zone...
Combination of tree improvement with silvicultural measurements to establish
intensive large timber plantations.
Pest/insect and forest fire control.
Research to enhancing competitive advantages of products made of wood.

4.2.

Major Research Providers

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development






Forest Science Institute of Vietnam
Forest Inventory and Planning Institute
Agriculture Forestry Techniques Research Institute of Tay Nguyen
Agriculture Forestry Techniques Research Institute of Northern Mountain
Institute of Economic and strategy in Agriculture and Forestry

Universities






Forest University of Xuan Mai
Agriculture Forestry University of Ho Chi Minh City
Central Highland University
Agriculture Forestry University of Hue
Agriculture Forestry University of Thai nguyen

Others
Departments of Agriculture and rural development, extension centres…
Major donors/International Collaborators:
 CIFOR, CSIRO, ACIAR, AusAID, SIDA, IUCN, JICA, TBI, FAO, UNDP,
APAFRI, FORESPA
4.3.






Funding

National budget, Up to now, large timber does not identified as an ARDO in
Vietnam, so that no specific figures of total funding for large timber products were
available. In general, investment for large timber research and production is still low
compared with other forestry ARDOs.
ODA
Bilateral co operations
others

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


9

4.4.

Major Achievements to Date

Research achievements gained up to present that relevant to large timber production are:
 Classification of forest land, evaluation of soil potential and the adaptation of tree
species and site classification as the basis for forest plantation planning
 Determination of essential wood properties as the basis for timber classification for
end-use purposes and processing technologies.
 Scientific background of forest harvesting and forest restoration after logging.
 Definition of a list of tree species for production forests in different ecologicaleconomic zones (46 tree species).
 Creating and improving tree breeds with high productivity and high resistance
(Eucalyptus spp. and Acacia spp.)
 Silvicultural techniques for intensive forest management.
 Processing technologies of wood from plantations.
 Wood treatment technologies.
 Many technical guidelines, regulations, standards have been delivered from the
research results and applied effectively in practice.
4.5


Impacts of research on the sector and national economy

Around 70% of production forest areas are poor forests and new restored forest with
production stock of 30-90m3/ha; Productivity of natural forest (annual increment) is

estimated to be. 3-5 m3/ha/year and productivity of man-made-forest 9-12
m3/ha/year.

Research could contribute to improve at least 3-4 million ha of production forest up
to the average production stock of 300 m3/ha with a productivity of 10-15 m3/ha/year
in 2020 and to enhance the supply capacity of the production forest towards 30-45
million m3 of wood (at least 50% of which are large timber, meaning ca.15-20
million m3/year) meeting the demand at that time.
 Research could also contribute to increase the productivity of man-made-forest up to
the average of 18-20 m3/ha/year; 40% of which could be large timber.
 The replacement and improvement of forest productivity will improve the
sustainability of supply of materials for wood processing industries as well as to
improve the environmental and social services of the forests. It will also encourage
the development of forest product processing industries for domestic use and export,
increasing the contribution of forestry sector to GDP, creating job opportunities for
upland people and communities.
4.1
Time frame:
- Expected time to achieve research results: 15-20 years
- Scope of application of research results is large.


5.

SWOT Analysis
Strengths





Physical
conditions
(climate,
soils),
biodiversity offer a high development
potential
Improved policies create a good legal

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Weaknesses




Production rotations are long (especially to
produce large timber) and there is a long time
to wait between initial investment and income.
Areas of forestry are topographically diverse

Data & Information Sheets


10



















environment for forest producers.
There are many investment programs to build
infrastructure with industrial groves linked to
raw material zones.
Market potential is big.
Large number of wood processing enterprises
Labor price is low and production cost has
competitive advantages over other countries.
Capacity of research and technology transfer
institutions is big.
Production establishments and households
have capacity and willingness to apply new
technologies to enhance forest productivity.
Good international reputation for furniture
and wood products

Opportunities

Improve restoration of natural forests
through increased productivity from
plantation forests by improvement in species
and silvicultural techniques
Improved social recognition of forest and
forestry in employment creation and in the
role of forests to improve economic, social,
environmental and sustainable land use
practices.
Improvement of productivity of natural
forests from 3-5m³/ha/yr to 10-15m³/ha/yr.
Improvement
of
plantation
forestry
productivity from 9-12m³/ha/yr to 18-

ForestryPriority Workshop.

with many difficulties, low infrastructure and
education level…may be not attractive
investors.
 80-90% of timber used for value adding is
from imported timber
 Area and bio-diversity of natural forests
continues to decline
 High wastage rates in wood processing
industries and equipment is out-of-date and
often uses low technology
 Over-exploitation of forest lands by SFEs

 Natural forest yield and productivity is low
 Plantation forest yields well below their
potential
 Timber demand does not meet the demand
from wood processing industries
 Markets for wood product is small and as yet
not sustainable nor is supply consistent
 Many research institutions, but relatively poor
coordination of function and research projects
leading to in inefficient use of research
resources.
 Little participation of the research result users
in the process of research planning and
implementing.
 Lack of focus in research activities and
research results application in practice.
 Inability to attract skilled forestry field officers
in remote areas.
 Research
and production activities are
separated; there is no closed link between
them, so that the research results could very
slowly be applied in production.
 Equipment and methodologies of processing
industries is out of date and poor linkages to
raw material regions leads to high production
cost and limited competitive advantage.
 Producers and trade companies do not have
commercial mark for their products.
 Limited forest enterprises have been certified.








Threats
Fire and other natural disasters and attacks
from pests and diseases is particularly
important for large timber forests with long
rotations
Lack of government and private sector
investment, both in expansion of plantation
forests and in modernization of processing
systems
Limited resources to improve the capacity of
researchers and timber producers
Increasing globalization and membership of
WTO may reduce the competitive ability of
the Vietnam forestry sector

Data & Information Sheets


11

20m³/ha/yr of which 40% could be achieved 
by large timber species
 Creation of employment through increased

areas of plantation forestry and improved
productivity and value adding
 Largest returns likely to result from
improved species and silvicultural research
 Private sector investment in plantation
forestry and partnerships between research
and the private sector may drive change in
the high value timber industries
 International integration enables research
institutions and scientists to communicate and
to implement new, modern research
methodologies and high technologies.

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Inability to meet strict international
requirements for product quality and the
certification of the product chain.

Data & Information Sheets


12

ARDO 2.

Pulp and Small Log Products

1.

ARDO DEFINITION

1.1.

National Goal:

To improve productivity and quality of forest plantations for pulp and small logs
supply, increasing the rate of wood utilization in production of wood based panel,
particle board, pulp paper and pit-wood
1.2.

Research scope:

Research into:


Technology for seed selection and propagation for pulp and small log plantations
with high productivity.



Suitable tree species in different ecological zones, especially small niche conditions.



Intensive technical systems for establishment and management of forest plantations.



Forest protection including from forest insects and disease.



Wood processing techniques and markets of small wood-based products.



Development of research to assist policy formulation for plantation development for
pulp and small log supply.

1.3.

Coverage:

Small logs with diameter at breast height < 25-30 cm.

2.

INDUSTRY STATISTICS

2.1

Introduction

Over the last years the area of forest plantation in Vietnam has continually increased.
At present there are 2.2 million ha of forest plantation, most of which is fast growing
tree species for paper and chip. Major species include: Acacia hybrids, Acacia
mangium, Acacia auriculiformis, Manglietia conifera, Dendrocalamus membranaceus,
Eucalyptus camaldulensis, and Eucalyptus urophylla. Research with these species on
planting and cultural techniques has resulted in development of an large wood

processing industry, resulting in improved income for producers and the nation and the
creation of work opportunities for local people. The demand for raw material and
paper, chip products is increasing with good domestic and export demand.
2.2.

Industry Characteristics and Prospects

Growing Areas and Yields


State-based forest enterprises, companies have areas from 1000 ha to some thousands
ha to establish forest plantations;



For individual households the area varies from 0.5 ha to a number of ha.



Accumulation of land area, and development of community households to plant
forests to supply sufficient volumes of raw material in processing zones is necessary.

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


13

Production



Planning area for major forest tree species are as follows:
- Acacia tree species group:

375,000 ha

- Eucalyptus tree species group:

350,000 ha

- Bamboo group:

146,000 ha



The major forest planting zones are: Central zone of the North, North-East, Northern
Central zone, Southern Central zone and Central highland of Vietnam.



The development strategy focuses on concentration of plantation areas on an
industrial scale to provide raw materials for local wood processing industries and to
utilize local labor in production and processing.



Production has increased from about 10m³/ha/yr to 15-20m³/ha/yr in North Vietnam
and 20-25m³/ha/yr in South Vietnam. due to introduction of new technology. In

some cases production is as high as 30-35m³/ha/yr.



Small plantations are normally established using extensive techniques, larger
plantations are more intensive using improved tree seeds and fertilisers. Larger
plantations are generally more productive

Value and Markets


The demand for paper and artificial boards is expected to continue to increase
sharply, thus forest plantation for raw material supply should be promoted.

Paper:


Total paper consumption: Year 2003: 967,000 ton; Year 2005: 1,232,331 ton.



Imported rate for consumption: Year 2003: 44%; Year 2005: 45%.



Fibre demand: Year 2003: 668,750 ton; Year 2005: 808,333 ton.

Pulp:


Pulp import: Year 2003: 668,750 ton; Year 2005: 808,333 ton. (about 20% of total
domestic demand)



Wooden residue use: Year 2003: 17%; Year 2005: 21%.



Bamboo: Year 2003: 113,688 ton; Year 2005: 166,333 ton.



Pulp and fibre demand: Year 2003-2005: 2,568,000 m3/year;

Chip board:


Consumption of chip board: Year 2003: 80,000 m3; Year 2005: 95,500 m3.



Imported rate for consumption: Year 2003: 25%; Year 2004: 33%.



Production of chip board: Year 2003: 60,000 m3; Year 2005: 64,000 m3.



Demand of small-sized wood: Year 2003: 139,535 m3; Year 2005: 148,837 m3.

Fibre board:
ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


14


Consumption of fibre boards: Year 2003: 40,100 m3; Year 2005: 49,100 m3.



Imported rate for consumption: Year 2003-2005: 27%/year;



Production of fibre board: Year 2003: 30,000 m3; Year 2005: 35,754 m3



Demand of small-sized wood: Year 2003: 69,767 m3; Year 2005: 83,148 m3.

Comparative Advantage


Compared with large log production many farmers prefer small logs for pulp as the
rotations are shorter.



Production per hectare is lower than many of Vietnam’s compeditors, but avaliable
land area is high and labour costs low.



Large domestic market is not satisfied by domestic production providing large
opportunities for import substitution



Some countries import chips or small logs from Vietnam

Government Policies


Instruction No 19/CT-TTg dated 16/July/1999 of Prime Minister on implementation
of strengthening measures of consumption of plantation timbers.



Instruction No 18/1999/CT-TTg dated 01/July/1999 of prime Minister on a number
of strenthening measures to complete agricultural, forest land use right issue in the
year 2000.



Decree No 163/1999/NĐ-CP dated 16/December/1999 of government on forest land

allocation, lease to organization, households and individuals to use long-term, stably
with forest purposes.



Decision No 538/QĐ/KL dated 13/July/1993 of Ministry of Forestry on
supplementary, modification of industrial forest plantations management, protection
regulations.



Resolution No 09/2000/NQ- CP dated 15/June/2000 of government on a number of
guidelines and policies about structure change of economy and agricultural products
consumption.



Decision No 145/1998/QĐ – TTg dated 15/August/1998 of Prime Minister on
management and utilization of forest plantation supported by FAO.



Decision of 162/1999/QĐ-TTg dated 7/August/1999 of Prime Minister on benefitsharing of households, individuals participated in the projects supported by German
government.



Decision No 187/1999/QĐ-TTg dated 16/Sep/1999 of Prime Minister on renovation
of State-based forest enterprise organization and mechanism.



Decree No 22-CP dated 9/March/1995 of Government promulgated regulation on
forest fire prevention and fighting.

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


15


Instruction No 286/TTg dated 2/May/1997 of Prime Minister on strenthening urgent
measures to protect and develop forests.



Decision no 202/TTg dated 2/May/1994 of Prime Minister promulgated regulation of
forest protection, assisted natural regeneration and plantation contraction.



Decree No 08/1997/QH 10 of the second meeting of National Assembly X on 5
million ha reforestation project.



Decision No 661/QĐ-TTg dated 29/July/1998 of Prime Minister on objectives, tasks,
policy and implementation of 5 million ha reforestation project.



Joint Circular no 28/1999/TT-LT dated 3/Feb/1999 of MARD, MPI, Ministry of
finance guiding implementation of decision No 661/QĐ-TTg dated 29/7/1998 of
prime minister on objectives, tasks, policy and implementation of 5 million ha
reforestation project.



Decision No 65/1998/QĐ-TTg dated 24/March/1998 of Prime Minister on export of
timber-based products, forest products and import wooded raw material, forest
products.



Decision No 136/1998/QĐ-TTg dated 31/July/1998 on modification of some
regulation on timber-based products, forest products export.



Decision no 02/1999/QĐ-BNN-PTLN dated 5/Jan/1998 of MARD promulgated
timber and forest product exploitation.



Decree No 43/1999/NĐ-CP dated 29/June/1999 of Government on state development
credit.



Decision No 264/CT dated 22/July/1992 of chairman of minister council on forest
development investment and encoragement policy.



Decision 1999/QĐ-BNN – PTLN dated 22/Jan/2002 of MARD approved “forest
development strategy period 2001 – 2010.

3.

Industry Analysis

3.1.

Structure

Households and Size of Holdings


No data available of size of holdings, but the average is 3-5 ha, with some holdings
up to 30 ha

3.2

Supporting Infrastructure

In concentrated raw material zones large scale processing mills/units exist:
Infrastructure including wood processing mills, factories and roads are well developed.


There are about 100 pulp and paper processing units of varying scales; 8 artificial
board processing mills.



In these areas the scale of production and wood processing infrastructure is large and
often based on state-based forest enterprises and forest companies,



A number of effective forestry farms have recently appeared.

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


16

Processing Capacity
The plantation regions for raw material were planned and each region has wood
processing facilities. Capacity of paper or wood based panel factories in the NorthEast generally exceed the supply of raw materials, but in other areas supply of raw
material exceeds the processing capacity. There are some big processing facilities
with high capacities as follows:
For pulp and paper


Bai Bang Paper Company (Phu Tho province): Capacity of 61,000 tons of
pulp and 100,000 tons of paper/year.



Viet Tri Paper Company (Phu Tho Province): Capacity of 100 tons of pulp
and 35,000 tons of paper/year.



Hoang Van Thu Paper Company (Thai Nguyen Province): Capacity of 20,000
tons of paper/year.



Dong Nai Paper Company (Dong Nai Province): Capacity of 20,000 tons of
paper/year.



Tan Mai Paper Company (Dong Nai province): Capacity of 40,000 tons of
pulp and 68,500 tons of paper/year.



Cau Duong Wood Processing Factory (Ha Noi city): 100,000 tons of fiber
paper/year.



Van Diem Paper Joint Stock Company (Ha Tay): Capacity of 1,500 pulp and
19,000 tons of paper/year.



Xuan Duc Paper Joint Stock Company (Ho Chi Minh city): Capacity of 2,000
tons of pulp and 20,000 tons of paper/year.



Sai Gon Liability Limited Company (Ho Chi Minh city): Capacity of 40,000
tons of paper/year.

For wood based panel:


Viet Tri Wood Based Panel Factory (Phu Tho province): Capacity of 4,000 m3
of and 2,000 tons of fiber board/year.



Gia Lai MDF Factory (Gia Lai province): Capacity of 54,00m3/year.



Thai Nguyen Particle Board Company (Thai Nguyen province): Capacity of
60,000 m3/year.



Quang Tri MDF Factory (Quang Tri province): 60,000m3/year.



Nghe An MDF Factory (Nghe An province): 30,000m3/year.

In areas without big wood processing mills/units: Generally, in these areas
infrastructure is less developed, transportation of timber is difficult; Processing units
have not been established, thus forest plantation is small and dispersed.
3.3.

Markets

Domestic market:

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


17


The markets of paper and wood based panel industry in Vietnam have been
developed. Domestic demand exceeds supply of raw materials with increasing
importation of paper, pulp, particle board, MDF and fibre board.



In general, the supply of materials for the market is stable. In some areas the balance
between supply and demand was out of balance e.g. supply of raw material in Bai
Bang raw material zone a few years ago was critically low. Small wood processing

facilities were satisfied with material supply, but medium wood processing facilities
did not enough material

Import and exports
Category

Imports (m³)

Exports

2003

2005

2003

2005

Fibre board and MDF

10,900(m³)

31,500(m³)

0

0

Particle board:

20,000(t)

31,500(t)

0

0

Paper

425,000(t)

556,331(t)

0

0

Pulp:

668,750(t)

803,333t)

0

0

Wooden chip for export

80,000(t)

1,000,000(t)

Small round wood for chip

1,440,000(m³)

1,800,000(m³)

The main export markets are Japan, Taiwan, EU and China.
Vietnam imports large high quality logs from other countries but does not generally
import small logs for processing
3.4.

Future Trends and Key Market Issues



Vietnam has a good potential for industries of paper, chip and wood based panel both
for domestic and export markets.



It is expected that export markets will develop further especially when Vietnam
becomes a member of World Trade Organization (WTO).



Processing capacity is adequate with small-scale facilities able to process raw

materials in mountain areas and larger processing facilities close to cities.



Increased production will be required to fully satisfy processing and export
opportunities

4.

R&D Information

4.1.

Main Research Areas



Species selection and tree breeding techniques for small log species.



Planning large scale plantation, site classification and suitable species to sites.



Improved techniques for establishment and management of intensive plantations.



Policy in order to encourage the investment in plantation establishment and forest

land utilization, consumption of products from plantations.



Techniques of processing and preservation forest products

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


18

4.2.

Major Research Providers

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development


Forest Science Institute of Vietnam (FSIV): Almost all forestry research in Vietnam
are conducted by FSIV. Established in 1961, it has six research divisions on
following subjects: silviculture, policy-economics, wood processing, wood
preservation, forest plant resources and forest protection; three specialized research
centers on forest tree improvement, forest ecology and environment, NTFP; 8
regional centers located in Son La, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Quang Tri, Gia Lai, Lam
Dong, Dong Nai, Ca Mau and one sub-institute in Ho Chi Minh city.



Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI): The main function and mission of
FIPI are planning the forest land and assessment of forestry resource in Vietnam.
Besides, FIPI also has carried out some researches concerning watershed
management, forest structure and growth and none-timber forest products.

Universities


The main contributor to research is the Vietnam Forestry University



Others include: Thu Duc Agriculture and Forestry University, Tay Nguyen
University, Thai Nguyen Agriculture and Forestry University and Hue Agriculture
and Forestry University.

Others


National parks and nature reserves; Forest protection centers which are under
management of forest protection department; Quang Ninh Forest college,… The
number of research projects and subjects undertake is low compared with research
institutions and universities.


Research institute for paper raw material species.



Paper and cellulose research institute.



In general, research staff in this ARDO have a lot of experience and have been
trained in Vietnam and overseas, the number of MSc and PhD is high;



Field experimental sites have been established in different ecological zones;



Research equipment and other facilities have been improved in the last few years.



International cooperation is strengthened; relationship between scientists and
producers is closer.

4.3.

Funding



Eighty percent of research funds are from MARD through the Department of Science
and Technology.



Other funds for forestry research from MARD, through the Department of Forestry
and within Project 661 (5 millions ha of reforestation).



Some research funds through the Ministry of Science and Technology for projects at
nation level.

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


19


International Cooperation Projects: The forestry sector is supported by many
international organizations and has The Forestry Sector Support & Partnership
Program with participation from many donors. A Trust fund has been established in
that program in order to invest in development of forestry. The main sponsors were
FAO; World Bank, ADB, Germany; Japan,...



The total of investment finances for forestry sector was sixty billions VND in 2006.

4.4.

Major Achievements to Date



A number of species, seeds, clones, provenances with high productivity were
selected and created for industrial plantations e.g. Some clones of Acacia hybrid
have productivity 20-30% higher than normal clones.



Productivity of Acacia plantations increased from 5-7 m3/ha/year to 12-15 m3 /ha
year with the best at 30-35m3/ha/year.



Some planning outlines and procedures in forest tree improvement were published
and applied.



The species and clones with high productivity were tested such as Acacia hybrid, A.
mangium, A. auriculiformis, Eucalyptus urophylla, Eucalystus hybrid, Casuarina
equisetifolia, shoot Bamboo. About 67 clones of forestry plant species were
considered as technical advances such as BV10, BV16, BV32, TB3, TB5, TB6,
TB12, KL2 in Acacia hybrid and U6, PN2, PN10, PN14, PN46 and PN47 in
Eucalyptus and clone of Casuarina equisetifolia were 601, 701. Those clones have
been planted widely in the whole country.



In recent years the use of heterosis was successful in the creation of hybrid clones.
e.g. Eucalyptus hybrids such as UC, UT, UM SM and GM improved productivity by

20-30% higher compared to their parents. In good sites productivity increases of 7080% have been observed. The clones of Acacia hybrid AM1, AM2, MA1, MA2 give
increment 20-30% higher than current A. hybrid and a combination of Melaleuca LC
can give increment 25-30% higher than normal clones.



Two clones of Eucalyptus named SM16 and SM23 were recognized as fast growing
and resistant to disease.



Improvements in propagation techniques have expanded the production of seedlings
from seeds and roots to cutting, tissue culture and grafting. Many large-scale
nurseries were established in every province and the seedlings supply is sufficient to
meet planting demands.



Tree selections for each ecology zone have been identified, but site selection not yet
detailed.



Intensive seedling and plantation establishment and management techniques
including publication of manuals.



Development of investment policies policy for plantation development.

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


20

5.

SWOT Analysis
Strengths




















Natural conditions in Vietnam are suitable for
development of many forest tree species.
Bare land and denuded hill area for plantation
establishment is abundant.
Government policies for increased plantation areas
and development of extensive processing industries
encourages expansion of this forestry sector
Many projects and programs for reforestation
supported by government and international
agencies.
A system of forestry management policy was
promulgated and it has been improved year by year.
Labor is cheap, infrastructure has been improved.
Tree species as well as planting techniques for raw
material supply plantation were defined. Many
clones with high productivity were found.
The major raw material zones with processing
facilities have been established.
Income is between 25 and 32m VND/ha/5 years
rotation.
About 5mVND is required for reestablishment.
The export of wooden products increased in the last
few years with amount of about 2 billions USA
year (from small and large logs
Shorter rotation lengths for fast growing small log
production compared with larger logs reduces risk
for producers
Increased forest cover, satisfying the raw material
demand of the market, environmental protection,

formulation of raw material supply areas linked
with wood processing

Opportunities

Weaknesses
 Relatively long time from planting to income

generation
 Difficult to attract investment funding for

plantation establishment
 Many farmers in mountainous areas are still














poor and they can not invest capital for
plantation establishment as well as processing
facilities of forest products.

Processing technology and tools are old and
out of date.
The efficiency of wood material utilization is
still low.
Land area of households after allocation is too
small and it is difficult to develop concentrated
raw material production areas.
Infrastructure is not good well developed in
some areas, especially in remote areas.
Lack of market information often leads to
lower prices for individual households.
Deficit of raw materials which have to be
imported.
Lack of modern equipment for research.
Technological transfer is weak and slow
The development between regions isn’t equal
and often the land set aside for plantations is in
areas where the climate is harsh, the soil is
severely eroded or areas are subject to droughts
or floods.
Lower value per m³ than large logs

Threats

 Good market growth opportunities,

 Risk of single species plantations resulting in



 Market and price are not stable.
 The competition, especially the importation of










with the
domestic market not yet fully supplied and good
potential for expansion of export markets
Further development of investment vehicles for
establishment of larger plantations
Many international projects were invested
including technical cooperation and direct
investment projects.
Further opportunities to improve productivity
through
genetic
improvement
programs,
improvement of establishment and management
techniques and interspecific combinations to
produce productive hybrid clones
More specific identification of suitability of species
to sites

The market will be expanded when Vietnam
becomes a member of WTO.
Upgrading of equipments and adoption of new
technology imported from overseas.
Achievement obtained during last 20 years of
“renovation” has created new opportunities for
future development.

ForestryPriority Workshop.

increase in epiphytotic disease, and fire.

paper and fibreboard products will increase
when Vietnam becomes a member of WTO
 Risk of unstable world prices for pulp and
paper and fibre board products

Data & Information Sheets


21

ARDO 3.

Bamboo and Rattan

1.

ARDO DEFINITION

1.1

National Goal
To conserve, develop and use sustainable Non – timber forest product (NTFP)
resource in Vietnam.

1.2

R&D Scope
Research on classification, ex-situ and in-situ conservation, conservation of rare,
valuable or endangered bamboo and rattan species, development of economic
valuable bamboo and rattan species.

1.3

Coverage
Economically valuable bamboo species providing raw material of high quality:
highly productive bamboo shoot species; economic valuable rattan species.

2.

INDUSTRY STATISTICS

2.1

Summary of the industry as a whole

Most bamboo is harvested from natural forest. Limited information on sustainable
harvesting practices has resulted in denegation of the natural bamboo resources and this
source of bamboo cannot match the demands of the processing industries. Many

bamboo species have become rare and endangered. There is little planting of
economical bamboo species and this is limited to a few species.
Previously rattan sources came mainly from natural forests. However this source has
been exhausted, while the demand is increasing because of rapid expansion of
traditional villages and non-state enterprises.
Bamboo


The bamboo resource of Vietnam is rich and diversified. Research from FSIV
identified 133 species belong to 25 genus within 216 collected samples (Table 1). It
is estimated that there are more than 200 bamboo species in Vietnam.
Table 1: Genera and Species of Bamboo
Genera

Number of
species

Vietnamese names

Scientific names

1

Vau xanh

Acidosasa

5

2

Truc day

Ampelocalamus

3

3

Sat

Arundinaria

8

4

Tre

Bambusa

67

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


22
5

Le Bac Bo

Bonia

2

6

Com lam

Cephalostachyum

4

7

Tróc vuong

Chimonobambusa

3

8

Sat gai

Chimonocalamus

2

9

Bac may

Dendrocalamopsis

3

10

Luong

Dendrocalamus

29

11

Hao dui

Fargesia

1

12

May lenh lang

Ferrocalamus

1

13

Le / mum

Gigantochloa

18

14

Vau dang

Indosasa

12

15

Giang

Maclurochloa

16

16

Tre qua thit

Melocalamus

8

17

Lanh anh

Oligostachyum

1

18

Truc

Phyllostachys

8

19

Nua moc tan

Pseudostachyum

1

20

Thia ma

Sasa

1

21

Nua

Schizostachyum

16

22

Sat nui cao

Sinarundinaria

2

23

Tam vong

Thyrsostachys

2

24

Le co

Vietnamosasa

2

25

Vau Cuc Phuong

Sinobambusa

1



According to results of the Steering committee on central forest inventory in 2001
the total bamboo area is 1,489,068 ha with a total of 8,400,767,000 bamboo stems.



Of this 1,415,552 ha is natural forest (poor stands and mixed stands) with
8,304,693,000 stems and about 73,516 ha bamboo plantations (mainly poor
plantation) with 96,074,000 stems.



Over the last 20 years the bamboo areas have changed (Table 2).
Table 2: Bamboo Areas
Year of

Natural bamboo forests

statistic

Area (ha)
Poor forest

Mixed
forest

Capacity

Bamboo plantations
Area (ha)

Capacity

(million

(millions

trees)

trees)

1983

1.005.000

395.700

4.084,7

46.300

97,1

1990

1.048.600

498.600

6.022,3

43.700

47,1

1999

789.221

623.331

8.304,6

73.516

96,074

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


23


Bamboo is widely distributed,, but main zones are North-West zone, North-East zone,
North Central zone, East South-Vietnam.



In the past only a few bamboo species such as Luong (Dendrocalamus barbatus), Tre
gai (Bambusa blumeana), Truc sao (Phyllostachys edulis) were planted, but in recent
years there has been an increase in planted bamboo, particular the exotic species for
shoot production.

Utilization:


In daily life: There are hundreds of products made from bamboo used for daily
life, particularly in rural and mountainous areas. These include many bamboo
utensils



For building and traffic and transport: For many rural people, about 50% of
house building material is made from bamboo. Only large sized species with thick
walls, such as Mai, Dien, Luong, Buong, Loc ngoc, La nga, Tre gai, Tam vong are
used, In the future bamboo will still be important for building and construction,
especially scaffolding. In the traffic and transport many bamboo species are used
for bridges and boats.



Material for handicraft and fine arts: To produce traditional, unique handicrafts
and arts, for local use and for export. Recently many traditional trade villages
have been restored and investments in re-organization to produce valuable objects
made. Usually bamboo is used in combination with rattan to make bamboo and
rattan wares such as: tables, flower vases, tray, decorative things, pictures, beds,
cabinets.



In paper and pulp industry: Many South-East Asian countries use bamboo to
produce paper and pulp and some bamboo species with high fibre content provide
a valuable raw material resource for high quality pulp and paper.



Food: Some bamboo species provide edible young shoots, and are used as fresh,
nourishing vegetable sources in South-East Asia. Most edible bamboo shoots can
be made into products such as dried sliced bamboo shoots, sour bamboo shoots,
scanned bamboo shoots, frozen shoots, etc. Bamboo shoots are an important

source for export. Now in Vietnam some exotic bamboo species such as Diem truc
(Dendrocalamus latiflorus), Luc truc (Bambusa oldhamii), Manh tong
(Dendrocalamus asper) are selected and planted by local people. The nutrient
analysis of bamboo shoot of 18 monopodial and 10 other sympodial bamboo
species showed that it contains about 90% water, 2.4% protein, 17 amino acids,
and some amino acids containing Lysene, Glutamine and Arginine which are
higher than in some vegetables such as cabbage, carrot, onion, pumpkin. There are
8 kinds of amines in bamboo shoots that can not synthesized by human body.
Number of other amine acids have been fund only in bamboo shoots such as
Luecine., Isoleucine, Methionine., Phenylalanine. and Valine.



Raw material for man-made board.: Bamboos are being used for producing
laminated bamboo boards, particle bamboo boards, bamboo panels for flooring,
furniture, decorative purposes. These have been export to Taiwan, Korea, Western
Europe, USA.



Charcoal: Bamboo charcoal is used like active charcoal for filtering of water and
air, and is now an important export to some countries such as China, Vietnam.

Rattan
ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets


24



Rattan like bamboos is an important NTFP source in Vietnam. There are 30 rattan
species belong to 6 genuses: e.g.
Genus
May nep Calamus

19 species
subspecies

Heo Daemonorops

4 species

Phuon Korthasia

2 species

May rup Miriapis

1 species

Song la bac Plectocomia

2 species

Song voi Plecomomiopsis


Number of species

1 species

and

1

Among rattan species only 5 species have been used widely: May nep (Calamus
tetradatylus), May dang (C. tonkinensis), Song mat (C. plattyacanthus), Song da (C.
rudentrum), Song bot (C. poilanei).
Species

Distribution

May nep Calamus tetradatylus

widely over whole country

May dang C. tonkinensis

widely

Song mat C. plattyacanthus

Mainly in Northern

Song da
rudentrum

(Song

Song bot C. poilanei

den)

C. widely
from Thanh Hoa to Southern



About 20,000 tons/year of rattan is exploited from natural forest. Planted rattan
species provide 2,500 - 3,000 tons. May nep can be obtained by rural people in some
provinces.



Natural rattan is distributed mainly in Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai, Bac Thai,
Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Nghia
Binh, Dak Lac, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc.



May nep is planted widely in Thai Binh, Nam Đinh, Ha Nam, Hung Yen, Ninh Binh,
Nghe An, Ha Tinh. Besides May nep, Song mat has been studied as planting species
under forest canopies in Bac Kan, Hoa Binh. May nep usually is planted in garden
and is numerous in some lowland provinces such as Thai Binh, Nam Ha, Nam Dinh,
Ninh Binh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen

Utilization:


An important utilization of rattan is to make handicrafts and artistic wares, and
furniture (tables, chairs, beds, benches). Rattan is used in combination with bamboos
to make wares named "bamboo and rattan weaving product".

Comparative Advantage


Vietnam belongs to the countries with rich bamboo and rattan sources. There are
many species that have high economic value and are important as a raw material
source for many production areas.

ForestryPriority Workshop.

Data & Information Sheets