HA NOI — Wood product exports are likely to fall short of targets for 2009 despite increasing in the second half of the year, according to the Viet Nam Wood and Forest Products Association.

The volume of export orders was no lower than during the same period last year, said association chairman Nguyen Ton Quyen, adding many processors had signed export contracts for the third or fourth quarters of this year.

"Export value is only expected to reach US$2.8 billion for the year, however, below the year’s target of $3 billion," Quyen said, blaming prices that were 10 per cent lower than a year ago, as well as finding quality raw materials with certificates of origin that meet US and EU import requirements.

Orders from large export markets are expected to increase in the coming time with signs of recovery in the global economy and the annual move of retailers to stock up for the end-of-year shopping season.

Quyen suggested Vietnamese wood products exporters pay increasing attention to new export markets like Russia and the Middle East, rather than rely too heavily on traditional export markets like Japan, the US and the EU.

Wood product makers, meanwhile, were trying to make products for the domestic market, such as desks and chairs for schools in rural areas, as well as furniture for sale in major cities, said Quyen.

Exports of wood products in the first half of the year totalled $1.3 billion, down 30 per cent from the same period last year, according to association figures. Many producers in Binh Dinh and Dong Nai provinces have reported cutting back production due to falling orders.