Furniture makers told to focus on indoor products

The provincial Binh Dinh People’s Committee on Wednesday urged local wooden furniture makers to boost production of indoor products rather than deck chairs, sun loungers and swings – which it said would be more lucrative.

There are 150 firms making wooden furniture in the central province of Binh Dinh, which have a combined workshop area of more than 2 million square metre, according to the committee.

The companies, most of which are located in the Phu Tai 4 Industrial Zone, produce about 50 per cent of the province’s total industrial output value, and about 60 per cent to its total export value. The enterprises employ more than 20,000 local workers.

“But these enterprises are just mainly producing outdoor products, which have low export value,” Nguyen Van Thien, the committee’s chairman, said.

“These workshops are not being efficiently run,” he said.

Some firms, such as Tien Dat, Dai Thanh and Pisico, have already started to shift their focus to indoor furniture, but the majority of manufacturers are still concentrating on making less profitable items, Thien said.

The committee assigned the Department of Industry and Trade to co-operate with relevant agencies and the Association of Wood and Forest Product Processing for Export to introduce policies to encourage firms to make the transition to producing indoor furniture, such as reducing rent and organising training courses.

It asked the department to submit its proposals by the end of next month.

Tags: Vietnam Furniture makers