Why does Japan increase imports of wood chips and pellets from Vietnam?

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade , exports of wood and wood products to the Japanese market in the first 6 months of this year decreased slightly compared to the same period in 2022. However, wood chips and wood pellets were recorded to have high growth value.

Vì sao Nhật Bản tăng nhập khẩu dăm gỗ, viên nén từ Việt Nam? - Ảnh 1. — Wood chips are gathered by businesses at Cai Lan port ( Quang Ninh ) waiting to be packed in containers for export.

Citing statistics from the General Department of Customs ( Ministry of Finance ), the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that in June, the export value of wood and wood products to the Japanese market reached 135 million USD, down 18.8% compared to June 2022.

In the first 6 months of the year, the export value of wood and wood products to the Japanese market reached 812.8 million USD, down 3.8% over the same period in 2022. Notably, wood chips and wood pellets had the highest increase in value among the group of wood and wood products exported from Vietnam to the Japanese market.

Specifically, the export value of wood chips reached 316.5 million USD, up 5.5% over the same period in 2022, accounting for 38.94% of the total export value. Wood pellets recorded an export value of 191.1 million USD, up 27% over the same period in 2022.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the export of wood chips and wood pellets to the Japanese market increased strongly in the first half of the year because the country is developing many thermal power plants using wood chips and wood pellets as fuel. It is forecasted that in the coming time, the demand for wood chips and wood pellets in Japan will continue to increase.

According to a report conducted by Forest Trends in collaboration with the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association and the Binh Dinh Timber and Forest Products Association, published in early July, Vietnam has become the second largest producer and exporter of wood pellets in the world, after the US. Over the past 10 years, the volume and value of Vietnam's wood pellet exports have increased 28 and 34 times, respectively.

For the Japanese market, in addition to long-term import and export orders (contracts signed for 10-15 years), currently some Japanese enterprises also carry out short-term contracts with some Vietnamese suppliers.

Japan is also a market that requires exported pellets to have voluntary standards certification to support responsible forest management on a global scale (FSC). Currently, raw materials for pellets exported to Japan are all from domestic plantation wood, mainly from acacia trees.

According to information from businesses, Japan currently uses about 8 million tons of pellets each year, of which 50-60% are wood pellets. It is expected that by 2030, Japan will have an annual consumption demand of over 20 million tons of pellets, of which wood pellets will account for about 13-15 million tons. This will be a great opportunity for Vietnamese businesses, especially those with stable input materials and FSC certification, large-scale factories, and systematic management.

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