Forestry exports will not be lower than 12 billion USD: Official

Forestry contributed most to the agriculture and rural development sector in the first half, he said, with export value rising 2.7 percent to 5.3 billion USD.

He asked the forestry sector to focus on addressing issues such as anti-dumping lawsuits and product origin fraud, and to coordinate with ministries and agencies in handling trade disputes.

Vietnam planted 106,300 ha of concentrated forest in the first half of this year, up 0.2 percent year-on-year and reaching 48.3 percent of the annual target, Tuan said, adding that the total area is expected to reach 220,000 ha by the end of the year.

The meeting also heard that there were only 5,801 violations of the Law on Forestry, down 16 percent since last year, while 109 forest fires burned 260 ha, down 35 percent and 75 percent, respectively.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the hot weather have affected forestation in some localities, said Nguyen Huu Thien, head of the Forest Protection Agency.

Deputy head of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry Pham Van Dien said the sector will work to reduce the number of forest fires by 10 percent and the affected area by 20 percent.

Cutting-edge technologies will be utilised in the early wildfire warning system, he added./.