UNABLE to edge out their Chinese counterparts in the international market, Filipino furniture exporters will now be attempting to invade the Chinese market itself.
Wilbert Novero, vice president for international trade of Fairs & More Inc. (FMI), said the focus now is to help exporters gain a larger slice of the $11-billion annual Chinese furniture-imports pie, particularly in the design-driven segment.
“Its proximity makes it a very ideal destination for the country’s furniture exports. Philippine-made furniture has been recognized for excellence in product design and craftsmanship. We just have to establish our presence there,” Novero said.
He said China is a huge market, being the fourth- biggest importer of furniture in the world, after Europe, the United States and Japan.
Currently, the Philippines is trying to compete with China in the $64-billion American furniture market.
China, however, is the runaway winner with 51 percent of the North American market, while the Philippines’s share is only 0.5 percent.
Novero said there should be a shift in the tack being followed by Filipino exporters. “China should never be viewed as a competitor but rather as an important trading partner,” he said in explaining his group’s objective. “We want furniture exports to China to double in the next three years.”
The FMI recently sent representatives from seven Filipino furniture-making companies to China for the 17th Annual China International Furniture Expo, one of the three biggest gatherings of furniture manufacturers in the world and showcase of famous brands from Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, the US and Vietnam.
The seven companies were Cebu Fil Veneer Corp., Ateliera, Diretso Philippines Inc., Far East Furniture, JB Woodcraft Inc., JLQ International Inc., Miscellaneous Creative Aesthetic Arts Inc., and More Than A Chair Inc.
Novero said there is reason to be optimistic since the Philippine furniture industry has continued to rebound from last year.
Government data showed that woodcraft and furniture exports for the first eight months of the year reached P1.18 billion, up 68.34 percent compared to the same period last year.
Currently, the US and Japan combine for 60 percent of the Philippines’s total furniture exports. Furniture exports to China are only 5 percent.
Furniture exports peaked in 1999 with more than $381 million before slowly declining due to the world financial crisis and stiffer international competition.
The Philippines, considered as the Milan of Asia, has roughly 15,000 furniture firms that employ more than 800,000 workers, mostly in Cebu, Metro Manila and Pampanga.
