Naval stores is a collective term that refers to the resin-based components originally used to build and maintain wooden ships. Today, resins are more commonly used to make soaps, varnishes, paints, roofing materials and for a variety of industrial applications. Harvesting this sticky resource, however, still requires tapping a pine tree and collecting the stuff that oozes out. The photo above shows a Pinus merkusii (Jungh. & de Vreise) tree being tapped for resin in Central Vietnam.
Pinus merkusii is a light demander that grows very well in disturbed, eroded sites, and this species has been used to reforest thousands of hectares in Vietnam (see Forest of Vietnam II). And when the trees in these plantations get big enough (15 years and older), many of them are tapped. According to FAO, Vietnam produces over 4,500 tons of pine resin each year, most of it exported to Japan. Just so you know.
