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THE
brisk domestic real-estate industry is keeping Cebu’s
furniture exporters afloat as the industry continues to
reel from a slow US economy and high costs of
production.
 Cebu
Furniture Industry Foundation (CFIF) president Eric
Casas said the traditionally exporting industry had to
rely on the local market as it tries to weather the slow
demand for high-end Cebu furniture in the US.
“The
strong Philippine economy is a plug in the hole as the
demand from the US continues to slow down,” Casas told
reporters. “At present, maybe around 25 percent, at
most, of our production is being pushed into the local
market.”
Local
hotels, condominium projects and private homeowners are
keeping the production lines going as the industry tries
to wait for the US economy—its biggest customer—to
recover and while its marketing teams scour Europe and
the Middle East for new markets.
 Adding
more problems to the industry are the rise in costs of
fuel, raw materials and labor.
“A
combination of these forces has dealt this vibrant
industry a hard blow, but we believe the world furniture
market is still a good market,” Casas said.
He said
US retailers have also shifted their buying methods and
are now buying on lesser volume compared with before.
“The
retailers used to buy in bigger volumes for their
inventory, but now they are buying in smaller volumes,”
Casas said.
Cebu,
which produces more than 40 percent of the country’s
$275-million export-furniture industry, has
traditionally looked at markets abroad as it finds the
local demand wanting.
The
industry’s flagship event, the Cebu International
Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition (CebuX) in 2008,
showed up the difficulty in the market—when it generated
only $15.4 million in sales, still dominated by US
buyers who accounted for close to $4 million in orders.
Despite
the challenges facing the industry, CFIF executive
director Ruby Salutan said they would push through with
CebuX 2008 and hopefully this time they could bring in
more buyers from Europe and the Middle East.
Salutan
also denied reports that CebuX would merge with Manila
NOW, the flagship event of furniture makers in Manila
and Luzon.
“We
cater to two different markets as Cebu has positioned
itself as a design destination, producing products for
the high-end markets abroad,” Casas said.
“We want
to keep our niche market, which are the high-end buyers
in the US and abroad. These are the customers who are
least affected by the troubles in the economy.” |
