Currently, wood businesses in the South still face many difficulties in doing business, however, the units are still trying to restructure their production lines, shift to find customers, and secure jobs for workers...
Difficulties surround wood enterprises
From the first quarter of 2023 up to now, the export value of wood and forest products has decreased by nearly 30% compared to the same period in 2022.
For the wood industry in Binh Duong, according to the provincial Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, in the first months of 2023, wood industry enterprises faced many difficulties in finding orders.
Many markets in the world were affected by inflation, so consumer demand decreased, leading to a decrease in orders, especially in the main export markets for wooden furniture such as the US, and the European Union... causing many businesses The wood industry has a broken production chain.
Until the beginning of July 2023, the situation of orders of wood industry enterprises in Binh Duong was still not better.
Mr. Nguyen Liem - Chairman of Binh Duong Woodworking Association - said that interest rates are still high and inflation abroad is still there, so the situation of the industry has not improved. This leads to the purchase and sale of new houses and less construction, causing overseas businesses to have a lot of inventory, so they have not bought or imported goods.
“For FDI enterprises, orders, and operating capacity are only 50-60%, Vietnamese enterprises only operate at 35-40% capacity. Only short-term orders, no long-term orders," said Mr. Nguyen Liem.
Lam Viet Joint Stock Company, which is chaired by Mr. Nguyen Liem, is only operating at over 40% capacity.
Meanwhile, HT Wood Co., Ltd. has factories in Di An City and Tan Uyen City in the same situation.
“There are still no new signals, the company only has short-term orders, no long-term orders. The company tries to maintain jobs for about 800 employees” - Human Resources Director of HT Wood Co., Ltd. said.
The business expectation in the last 6 months of the year is prosperous
As for employment and labor, over the past time, in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai, thousands of woodworkers have fallen into unemployment, and many have left their hometowns. Many workers have to change jobs to find other employment. Meanwhile, a part of workers who are laid off without pay also face difficulties.
According to Mr. Nguyen Phuong - Director of Minh Thanh Co., Ltd., the production situation of the company has had orders, although not as many as before. “We went to many exhibitions and fairs to look for orders.
At the same time, the company also changes the design and materials to meet customers' needs. Therefore, in the near future, wood industry workers are likely to have jobs again because the order situation is getting better "- Director of Minh Thanh Co., Ltd. shared.
Talking to the press, Mr. Do Xuan Lap - Chairman of Viforest - said that the Southeast region accounts for three-quarters of the country's exports. In, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai occupy the main focus of the country.
In order for the wood industry to develop, it is necessary to create clusters and hi-tech enterprise zones for the wood industry to help enterprises with production scale in potential regions and localities.
At the same time, to create conditions for businesses to participate in major international fairs, the Southeast provinces must have a national fair center for the wood industry to introduce and promote their products. wood processing and forestry products for export.
“The important solution now of the wood industry is to find support to participate in international fairs, join the supply chain, and build a market because the wood industry is currently walking with "one leg" and the other is taking care of the timber industry. production floor and the market is still weak," said Mr. Do Xuan Lap.
(Lao Dong)