Nguyen Van Truong of HCM City-based AA Corporation has won the first prize in the furniture design competition "Apricot Blossom 2009". The Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City (Hawa) said Truong won the prize after 30 finalists were chosen from 210 entries submitted by many wood processing firms and students from universities nationwide. Thai My Phuong and Nguyen Vo Hien Chuong, students from the HCM City University of Architecture, took the first and second runners – up prizes respectively. The annual event, launched in 2002, aims to discover young Vietnamese talents who can generate new ideas and boost development of the domestic furniture industry, Hawa deputy chairman Tran Quoc Manh said at the award ceremony. The event will also be a bridge between producers and designers, turning creative ideas into real products that are well liked by many consumers, he added. At a conference that was held within the award ceremony framework, an expert said many Vietnamese designers and producers had increased the use of American hardwood over the past several years. Viet Nam is one of the most important US hardwood importers in Asia, said John Chan, Regional Director of the American Hardwood Export Council covering Southeast Asia and Greater China. The conference dealt with American hardwood designs for furniture and interior design solutions. From 2007, Viet Nam was the leading ASEAN importer of US hardwood and it also ranked second in Asia as a single market after mainland China, Chan said. He noted that in 2007 and 2008, the US exported hardwood products worth nearly US$100 million to Viet Nam.