New Zealand Forestry and Trade Minister Todd McClay on May 27 unveiled a new bilateral agreement with Vietnam designed to boost timber exports and remove potential trade barriers in the forestry sector between the two nations.

VOV.VN - The opening nine months of the year witnessed timber and wood product exports reach US$12.15 billion, up 17.2% year on year, thereby making the products among the country’s top export items.

Vietnamese wood and wooden furniture enterprises have been facing many difficulties as export orders have dropped 50-60% since the beginning of this year, pushing firms to cut off at least half of their production capacities.

Due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and many European countries turning their back on the supply of gas from Russia, the export potential of wood, and especially wood pellets, is on an upward trend.

Vietnam and the US have reached an agreement on illegal logging and timber trade that will avoid hefty tariffs on Vietnamese timber exports, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).