Why Vietnam
Vietnam is the world's second-largest exporter of wooden furniture and Trading Globe's primary destination market. Its timber and wood-product exports reached about US$17.2 billion in 2025, up 6 % year on year, with the United States taking roughly 55 % of that value and wooden furniture accounting for 61 % of the sector (VIFOREST and Vietnam Customs, via Vietnam Briefing, March 2026). The industry counts more than 6,000 wood processing and trading companies, including some 700 foreign-invested enterprises (Forest Economic Advisors, January 2026).
That export machine runs on imported raw material. Vietnam banned logging in its natural forests and imports between 3 and 3.5 million m³ of logs and sawnwood a year from a mix of sources (Forest Trends, January 2025). Tropical hardwood imports have fallen from 2–3 million m³ a year to about 750,000 m³ as manufacturers shifted to plantation softwood — pine above all — for upholstered-furniture frames, table legs and structural parts, glulam and laminated panels, doors and mouldings for the US residential segment, and pallets and packaging (Forest Economic Advisors, January 2026).
- US$17.2 billion — Vietnam's timber and wood-product exports in 2025, +6 % year on year (VIFOREST / Vietnam Customs).
- 3–3.5 million m³ — annual imports of logs and sawnwood feeding the industry (Forest Trends).
- ~750,000 m³ — tropical hardwood imports today, down from 2–3 million m³ a year, replaced largely by plantation pine (Forest Economic Advisors).
Where South American pine fits
Chile, Brazil, the United States and New Zealand are the established softwood suppliers to Vietnam; Argentina and Uruguay are the emerging ones, with the same plantation species — Pinus elliottii and Pinus taeda — and competitive pricing. Vietnam is also a re-exporter of pine into the region: it supplies about 30 % of Thailand's pine-wood imports, alongside Chile (41 %) and Argentina (25 %) (Volza; see The Philippines and Thailand Are Turning to Imported Pine). Trading Globe supplies Vietnamese buyers with specifications developed for this market — "Vietnam-ready" KD/S4S — and custom dimensions per order.
Products relevant to Vietnam
- KD / S4S pine lumber — kiln-dried, surfaced four sides, controlled moisture; nominal 2×4 and 2×6, lengths 3–6 m; Vietnam-ready specifications. Product range →
- APG / Colonial grade pine — appearance grade for furniture and interior components; standard or custom dimensions, high-volume supply.
- Clear boards — knot-free pine for fine furniture and millwork.
- Eucalyptus — plantation eucalyptus from Uruguay, AD/KD rough sawn, no-wane, high density, custom dimensions for Vietnam.
- Pallet components — pre-cut boards and blocks, heat-treated on request.
Documentation for Vietnam
Vietnam regulates timber imports under Decree 102/2020/ND-CP — the Vietnam Timber Legality Assurance System (VNTLAS), in force since 30 October 2020 — as amended by Decree 120/2024/ND-CP. The importer files a declaration of origin of imported timber with the customs declaration and applies a risk-based due diligence: timber of temperate plantation species from lower-risk origins requires less supplementary evidence than high-risk tropical species (Forest Trends, January 2025). Imported timber also requires a phytosanitary certificate from the country of origin and import quarantine registration with Vietnam's plant quarantine authority; CITES or FLEGT permits apply only to listed species or FLEGT-licensed origins.
Trading Globe supplies the documents the Vietnamese importer needs for its declaration: phytosanitary certificate issued by SENASA (Argentina) or MGAP-DGSA (Uruguay), certificate of origin, invoice and packing list with species, grade, dimensions and moisture content, the mill's kiln-drying certificate, and the legal-harvest and plot-geolocation records of the sawmill partner. Full detail: Compliance & documentation.
Logistics
Origin ports: Buenos Aires and Concepción del Uruguay (Argentina), Montevideo (Uruguay). Containerised sawn timber to Ho Chi Minh City (Cat Lai / Cai Mep) and Hai Phong according to the buyer's location. Transit times and freight are quoted per order.