Vietnamese could do well in foreign markets, but first they must meet sustainable development requirements, quality standards, and pricing expectations, representatives from large foreign distributors said at a conference on Wednesday.

The export value of wood and wood products was estimated at nearly 1.1 billion USD in July, bringing the total export earnings of the industry in the first seven months of this year to 7.1 billion USD, down 25% year on year, according to data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

Inflation and recession in many countries, especially some of Vietnam’s key export markets, have seen customers tighten spending on furniture. But there were signs of recovery in July, with exports rising by 2.8% year-on-year, higher than the country’s overall export growth rate, to US$1.1bil, with shipments to markets such as Turkiye, India, Chile, Cambodia, Finland and Norway seeing sharp rises, he said.

Import value of agricultural materials and products in the first half of the year sharply increased because of the rising demand and prices, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.