South Africa seeks wood industry ties with Binh Dinh

South African Ambassador to Vietnam Kgomotso Ruth Magau expressed the desire during a workshop held in the province on February 27. 

The ambassador stressed that Vietnam is now one of her country’s important economic partners so that South Africa is willing to create the best conditions for Vietnamese investors. 

First Secretary of the Republic of South Africa MC Van Der Westhuizen said the wood industry is a very promising sector in his country, where there is abundant resources of raw materials. 

Meanwhile, Binh Dinh is one of Vietnam’s three largest wood production localities, generating US$2.3 billion in export turnover since 2010. The locality ships its wooden products to 70 countries and territories across the world. 

South Africa is calling for investment in farm produce processing, automotive and support industries, chemicals and plastics, electronics, IT and communications, metallurgy, transportation, garment and textiles, footwear and tourism. 

In 2013, Vietnam’s exports to South Africa hit US$1.061 billion and imported US$155 million worth of goods from the country.