Of which, exports of wood and wooden products nearly touched US$3.7 billion, up 41.5%, and exports of non-timber forestry products reached US$243 million, up 38.4%.
According to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, major export markets for Vietnamese timber and forestry products were the US, Japan, China, the EU, and the Republic of Korea (RoK), accounting for up to 90% of the total value.
Meanwhile, the import value of wood and wooden products was estimated at US$227 million in March and US$709.6 million in the first quarter, up 31% over the same period last year.
The domestic forestry sector ran a trade surplus of over US$3.23 billion in the three-month period, up 43.4% year-on-year.
Vietnamese enterprises have been importing wood and forestry products from China, the US, Cameroon, Thailand, and Chile, accounting for about 55% of the accumulative import revenue.
The rise in the import value was due to higher prices of raw materials and increasing demand.
The Vietnam Administration of Forestry also reported that localities nationwide planted 31,498 hectares of forest so far this year, up 16% as compared with the same period last year.
