Concerns have been raised over the rapid increase in Vietnamese wood chip production and export which, say analysts, could threaten raw material availability for the domestic solid wood processing industry. In response the authorities in Quang Nam Province are seeking the development of technical standards for forest management and harvesting for chip plantations.
In Quang Nam Province there are about 200,000 ha of plantations, mainly acacia. Most of this area is of small scale household plots and harvesting is done when the trees are around 3-4 years old. The harvested timber is chipped and shipped to China from Dung Quat Port.