White Jabon and Eucalyptus boost Mekong wood industry

The Handicraft and Woodworking Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA) recently held a working session with the Can Tho Provincial People's Committee to propose a comprehensive project to develop raw material zones, handicrafts, and deep-processing facilities across the Mekong Delta.

During the session, Mr. Tran Lam Son - Standing Committee Member of HAWA and Project Director - unveiled notable findings on white jabon and eucalyptus, two newly prioritized species with strong competitive advantages for the contemporary wood processing sector.

Mr. Son revealed that an enterprise hunting for alternative timber sources discovered a species with exceptionally straight, well-formed trunks. Following intensive research upon returning to Vietnam, scientists identified the timber as white jabon, a species that adapts seamlessly to the Mekong Delta's eco-hydrological conditions.

HAWA swiftly distributed wood samples to manufacturing plants for product testing, receiving highly positive feedback from industry. According to Mr. Son, a major enterprise is already aligning its procurement strategy to consume between 17 and 18 million m3 of white jabon logs annually by 2030. This represents a massive consumption volume compared with the past, when domestic processors were heavily dependent on raw timber imports.

“White jabon has traditionally been treated as a wild, neglected tree growing in desolate patches, but from this moment forward, it holds monumental economic potential. HAWA has geared up to rapidly bridge alliances by 2030 to lock in this high-quality raw material stream,” Mr. Son emphasized.

According to Mr. Son, eucalyptus adapts well to brackish water and have a high regeneration rate. Eucalyptus wood is hard and strong. If processed into flooring for export, it would generate significant economic value.

It's worth noting that while many wood processing businesses in Ho Chi Minh City are still importing eucalyptus wood from Brazil and Uruguay, the Mekong Delta has many advantages for eucalyptus cultivation.

In fact, eucalyptus once flourished in Can Tho. Mr. La Trong Ky, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Can Tho City, said that the locality previously possessed a fairly large eucalyptus raw material area. Song Hau Farm (Thoi Hung commune) was the first unit to export eucalyptus wood.

However, subsequent market distribution bottlenecks threw growers into a volatile cycle where mass production met zero direct buyers, forcing sales through exploitative middlemen and shrinking the crop's footprint.

Similarly, at the Mua Xuan Farm (now Mua Xuan Agriculture Joint Stock Company), white and red eucalyptus trials initially failed to meet performance metrics due to sluggish growth tempos, protracted capital recovery cycles, and dense leaf-drop that altered local water acidity, prompting the unit to pivot to acacia as its main cash crop.

Armed with HAWA's fresh market insights, Mr. Nguyen Van Hien, Director of Mua Xuan Agriculture JSC, announced plans to trial-cultivate several hectares of white jabon to meticulously assess its performance, serving as a strategic backup and diversification option alongside acacia.

Can Tho’s leadership expects that the revival of forestry markets, pioneered by white jabon and eucalyptus, will help local populations diversify their livelihoods beyond traditional fruit orcharding and aquaculture.

Currently, Can Tho possesses around 4.800 hectares of production forests, including 110 hectares of large-timber plantations.

The dominant species comprise paperbark, long-leafed melaleuca, and various acacia hybrids that provide stable, short-cycle raw materials for wood chips, piling poles, sawn timber, and deep-processed wooden products.