Chairman of the national assembly of vietnam

According to data released by the United States International Trade Commission, during the opening 11 months of last year, the US’ imports for wooden furniture endured a decline of 0.6% to US$16.8 billion compared to the same period from 2019.

Vietnam remained as the largest supplier of wooden furniture to the United States throughout the reviewed period, with the export turnover reaching US$6.26 billion, a rise of 30.9% on-year.

The proportion of imports from the country accounts for 37.2% of the total import value, up 9% compared to last year’s corresponding period.

Most notably, Vietnam is the largest market for bedroom furniture for the US, making up 49.7% of the US’ total import value, followed by Malaysia, China, and Indonesia.

Nguyen Liem, chairman of Lam Viet Joint Stock Company, attributed this increase in US demand for wooden furniture to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as it has forced many Americans to remain indoors and focus on activities such as renovating their homes and purchasing new furniture.

He emphasised that Vietnamese wood brands in the US market have significantly improved in recent years due to American people being willing to purchase Vietnamese wooden furniture at more expensive prices over similar products from the Chinese market.

Do Xuan Lap, chairman of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association, pointed out that the wood industry’s strategic export products in the US market will be kitchen cabinets and bathroom cabinets.

Due to this, Lap advised local firms to be aware of market changes and appropriate product strategies, while enhancing their competitiveness to deeper penetrate into the global supply in order to increase exports to the demanding market.

Upon addressing the ceremony, Ha Thi Nga, president of the Vietnam Women’s Union, emphasised that this year’s award ceremony was held with the aim of celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Kovalevskaya Award. In addition, the occasion serves to affirm the importance of female scientists in conducting research activities to make great contributions to the country.

Nga went on to stress that the Vietnam Women’s Union has been fully aware of its role and responsibility in research activities that aim to improve the overall quality of the female workforce, especially in terms of high-quality female human resources.

Moving forward, the association plans to devise guidelines and policies which are both appropriate and effective in order to improve the overall quantity and quality of female intellectuals.

At the award ceremony,  former Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan expressed her hope that female scientists will seize upon opportunities to climb the social ladder through their research activities whilst greatly contributing to the country through participating in scientific research products.

This year’s award has been presented to a group of scientists from the VAST, along with those from Hanoi Medical University, for their outstanding achievements in the field of scientific research, with their work in natural science research particularly notable.

The Kovalevskaia Award was named after the Russian mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaia and was first presented in the nation in 1986, becoming the first national award for female scientists in the process.

Over the past 35 years, the award has been presented to 20 different organisations and 49 individuals across various fields, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, agriculture, medicine, and information technology.