Growing opportunities for B.C. species in Vietnam through local wholesaler partnership
As the second-largest exporter of wooden furniture in Asia and with low domestic wood supply, Vietnam’s demand for wood imports is high. Since 2017, Forestry Innovation Investment (FII) has been working with government and industry partners to position the B.C. forest sector as a reliable supplier of sustainable wood products within Vietnam’s growing wood in the manufacturing segment.
One component of FII’s strategy in Vietnam is to increase awareness of B.C. species by educating local manufactures, importers and traders on the technical properties and workability of B.C.’s softwood products.
FII Vietnam has built a relationship with Tavico – one of South Vietnam’s largest wholesalers of softwood and hardwood products from around the world. Since 2005, Tavico has become well-known in Vietnam, with a large customer base consisting of furniture, window and door manufacturers, as well as traders, architects, designers and contractors.
Tavico encourages customers to visit their warehouse where they have an inventory of B.C. products. Customers can view a variety of B.C. softwood species and grades that are used for different applications such as furniture, windows and doors. Tavico provides additional services for custom cutting, planing and drying to meet customer’s specific project requirements.
FII Vietnam has been working with Tavico and providing a range of support including wood samples, technical assistance, marketing materials and staff training seminars. These efforts have resulted in the expansion of knowledge and acceptance of several B.C. softwood species, including Spruce-Pine-Fir, western hemlock, Douglas-fir and western red cedar, to Tavico’s wide range of customers – one of whom recently placed a large order of western hemlock for door applications.
Moving forward, FII Vietnam will continue to build on this relationship with Tavico and use the model to build future connections with local wholesalers to ensure they stock Canadian inventory in their warehouses.