Australia’s Midway Tasmania Wood Imports Director Wayne Smith believes Vietnamese timber products boast better quality for lower prices than comparable products.

Smith made the remarks upon visiting the Vietnamese pavilion at the International Furniture Fair Singapore 2013 on March 9.

He said his company has imported Vietnamese wood products for ten years. Brothers Furniture Co. Ltd supplies him with 7–8 containers annually.

Pham Van Sau, Director of the Binh Duong-based Brothers Furniture Co. Ltd, said Midway Tasmania is among his firm’s ten regular customers—mostly comprising timber importers in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, EU, and Africa.

Sau said he will depart the international fair in Singapore having received numerous orders worth millions of US dollars. “All my company’s exhibited items were already purchased by this year’s opening ceremony,” he said.

French Luke Import Company Executive Director Kwanruen Ah Tun also values Vietnamese handicraft products. Her firm has been an import customer for nearly two decades. Luke Import will buy about 10 containers of handicraft products in 2013. “Our import volume is likely to increase. The products exhibited by Vietnam’s Grass Co. at this year’s trade fair were especially exciting,” she said.

The ongoing fair in Singapore coincides with the 30th ASEAN Furniture Show (IFFS/AFS), attracting 466 exhibitors from 26 countries, including 27 from Vietnam.

Vietnam is currently Southeast Asia’s largest timber exporter, the second biggest in Asia, amongst the world’s top 10.

Last year the country earned US$4.5 billion from wood exports, a 19 percent increase on 2011.

Vietnam ships its timber products to around 120 countries. The major US, EU, Japanese, and Chinese markets constituted more than 70 percent of the country’s 2012 timber export value.

Source: VOV