Strengthening management of forest product processing activities

The main products of Dien Bien Import Export Trading Joint Stock Company are mainly wooden furniture, such as: beds, cabinets, tables, chairs, shelves...

With about 20 establishments still in operation, Dien Bien Phu city is one of the localities with the largest number of wood processing and trading establishments in the province. The forest product production and processing establishments mainly produce and process peeled boards, wood chips, make household appliances, saw boards, construction carpentry, etc. These activities are mainly in the form of raw products, not soaked with toxic chemicals; excess materials after processing are used to make wood chips and fuel on the spot, so they do not have much impact on the surrounding environment.

At Dien Bien Import Export Trading Joint Stock Company, headquartered at Group 3, Thanh Binh Ward, Dien Bien Phu City, the average annual production consumes 60 - 70m3 ^of wood, creating stable jobs for more than 10 workers. The company's main products are wooden furniture, such as beds, cabinets, tables, chairs, shelves, etc. Therefore, the requirement of the origin of forest products is always the top priority of the unit.

Mr. Nguyen Phu Do, Director of Dien Bien Import-Export Trading Joint Stock Company, said: Currently, the source of wood used for processing of the company is mainly imported wood (accounting for 70%) and planted wood (about 30%) and all have legal documents. The company also fully implements the procedures for registration of production, business, environmental protection and fire prevention and fighting. During the operation, the company is regularly propagated, reminded and supervised by forest rangers in production and business activities as well as directly instructed on how to record books and propagate new documents related to forest product processing activities, so it is convenient in administrative procedures.

Requirements on the origin of forest products are always put first by forest product processing facilities.

According to statistics from the Forest Protection Department, the province currently has 69 operating forest product production, trading and processing establishments (including 4 enterprises, 1 cooperative, 64 households and individuals). The main activities are trading and manufacturing fine art wooden products and interior wooden products on a small scale. The main source of wood is wood imported directly through border gates or imported wood purchased from downstream enterprises that have imported to Vietnam (not imported directly from abroad) to process into finished products.

Mr. Ha Luong Hong, Head of the Provincial Forest Protection Department, said: To manage wood trading and processing establishments, the Provincial Forest Protection Department annually develops an inspection and examination plan; directs forest protection units to regularly review and grasp information on wood trading and processing establishments in the area for easy monitoring. In addition, the Mobile Forest Protection and Forest Fire Prevention and Fighting Team also develops a plan for surprise inspections when detecting signs of violations or when requested by superior agencies.

In 2023, the output of timber exploited from concentrated plantations and scattered trees (excluding rubber wood exploitation output) in the whole province will reach over 1,093m ³ .

Through inspection work, in 2023, the forest rangers in the province discovered and handled 6 violations related to forest product processing and trading establishments. In addition, forest product processing and trading establishments still have some limitations such as unscientific storage of forest product records; some processing establishments are households that do not keep a list of forest products produced. In fact, there are many families (not business households) and individuals who process, buy, sell, and store forest products. However, the law does not stipulate the establishment of a logbook for forest product imports and exports for individuals and households, causing difficulties in inspection and monitoring... The main reason is that some forest product collection and processing businesses in the area have not yet proactively studied the provisions of Circular No. 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT dated December 30, 2022 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development regulating the management and traceability of forest products. However, many establishments have not recorded correctly and fully the information on imports and exports of timber and non-timber forest products, have not yet reported the situation of forest product imports and exports periodically to the management agency, and many establishments still use the old forest product import and export logbook form.

Discussing the management of forest product processing and trading establishments in the coming time, Mr. Ha Luong Hong added: One of the main solutions to manage the activities of forest product processing establishments in the area is still to focus on price control and supervision. With the aim of ensuring compliance with the law, to have timely corrective and handling measures and create favorable conditions for forest product processing and trading establishments to ensure compliance with the law. In particular, focusing on contents such as: forest product records, business registration certificates, input wood sources; recording in the forest product import and export books and forest product declaration of establishments...

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