HCM City (VNA) – Despite daunting challenges, Vietnam’s exports of wood and wooden furniture have shown signs of recovery since the end of 2023, Director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)’s Ho Chi Minh City Branch Tran Ngoc Liem said on February 26. At the opening ceremony of the Vietnam International Furniture & Home Accessories Fair 2024 in HCM City, Liem said that shipment of the products in December 2023 rose 10.3% month-on-month to 1.6 billion USD while that in January grew 10.2% from the previous month to nearly 1.8 billion USD. He said this was the only product in the field of agriculture with export value exceeding 1 billion USD within a month, and 32 out of 45 key export markets seeing growth. However, Liem said that the wood industry is facing several problems that affect its sustainability, including risks related to imported timber materials, the EU’s deforestation regulations and requirements for wooden products to have low carbon footprints.