Furniture expo to boost exports

(VOV) – Around 200 companies have registered to set up 500 stalls in a four-day furniture and handicrafts expo, scheduled to begin in HCM City on October 5.

The event is being organised by the municipal Department of Industry and Trade as part of the National Trade Promotion Programme.

On display will be indoor and outdoor furniture, interior decoration, materials and accessories as well as bamboo and rattan furniture and handicrafts.

There will be a seminar on increasing the volume of outdoor furniture and bamboo and rattan handicrafts to the Japanese market.

“The annual expo will serve as a bridge to connect businesses in the furniture and handicrafts industry with international buyers,” said Quach To Dung, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade at a recent press briefing.

She said businesses at the event will have an opportunity to market products for export in Vietnam, thus saving costs.
According to Bui Thi Thanh An, a representative from Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, furniture is a major export of Vietnam, which achieved a turnover of US$3.4 billion last year, up from a modest US$219 million in 2000.

The US and Europe are two major markets, accounting for 44 percent and 29 percent of the total turnover, respectively. Currently, India and the Middle East are growing markets.

In the year’s first eight months, exports posted a total value of US$2.4 billion, compared to US$4 billion target set for 2011.

Dang Quoc Hung, vice chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City (HAWA), said ecomomies in the US and Western Europe remained in a difficult situation, which would be difficult for Vietnam’s furniture export sector.

Meanwhile, the price for wooden imports has increased between 10 and 30 percent.

Posted by VBN on Oct 4 2011. Filed under Handicraft, Import-Export. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry