This paper explores the perceptions of 114 Vietnamese companies regarding the opportunities and challenges they face in trading timber and wood with African countries, drawing the implications for future implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) in Vietnam and African countries. More than half of the surveyed companies imported African timber for construction, raw material resale, and furniture production. For most companies surveyed, imported African timber was used in 25 %–50 % of their products; just 10 % of companies were entirely dependent on imported African timber. Surveyed companies had a diverse supplier list, with those from the United States and European Union contributing higher percentages of timber than their African counterparts. African countries were considered high-risk for illegal logging; yet surveyed companies also believed African timber imports to be an opportunity due to the continent's significant expanse of tropical forests, high consumer demand for African timber, and favourable conditions when dealing with African businesses. However, importing African timber also brought major challenges for Vietnamese companies due to pressure from consumer countries to ensure timber product legality, and due to the lack of accountable, transparent governance and legal frameworks – in both Vietnam and African countries – required to validate sources. Our paper sheds light on challenges for timber- and wood-processing companies in Vietnam in complying with the EUDR and highlights the need to strengthen governance frameworks around timber imports and exports in Vietnam, African countries and consumer countries to monitor and control the illegal timber trade.

中文翻译：

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政策论坛：越南公司从非洲采购可持续木材的机遇和挑战，以及对未来实施欧盟森林砍伐法规的影响


本文探讨了 114 家越南公司对与非洲国家进行木材贸易时面临的机遇和挑战的看法，并得出了对越南和非洲国家未来实施欧盟森林砍伐条例 （EUDR） 的影响。超过一半的受访公司进口非洲木材用于建筑、原材料转售和家具生产。对于大多数受访公司来说，其 25% 至 50% 的产品使用了进口的非洲木材;只有 10% 的公司完全依赖进口的非洲木材。受访公司的供应商名单多样化，其中来自美国和欧盟的公司贡献的木材比例高于非洲同行。非洲国家被认为是非法采伐的高风险国家;然而，受访公司也认为，非洲木材进口是一个机会，因为非洲大陆拥有广阔的热带森林，消费者对非洲木材的需求很高，以及与非洲企业打交道的有利条件。然而，由于消费国要求确保木材产品合法性的压力，以及越南和非洲国家缺乏验证来源所需的负责任、透明的治理和法律框架，进口非洲木材也给越南公司带来了重大挑战。我们的论文阐明了越南木材和木材加工公司在遵守 EUDR 方面面临的挑战，并强调了加强越南、非洲国家和消费国围绕木材进出口的治理框架的必要性，以监测和控制非法木材贸易。