Aimed at $5B in Furniture Exports, Indonesia Critiques Malaysia
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JAKARTA, INDONESIA  - Targeting $5 billion in furniture exports, 470 exhibitors converged on Indonesia's largest ever furniture tradeshow, the Indonesia International Furniture Expo, IFEX 2015.

Aimed at $5B in Furniture Exports, Indonesia Critiques MalaysiaThe four-day show, which opened March 12 at the Jakarta International Expo fairground, completely filled all the halls as well as several large temporary halls built to accommodate demand to participate from exhibitors, says UBM Asia, which operates the show.

The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, opened the show, signaling the importance of the furniture industry and furniture exports to the Indonesian economy. Widodo's background also happens to be in the furniture business.

"I encourage the industry and government to work together to achieve the national goal of $5 billion of furniture exports within the next four years."

With an emphasis comparable to the High Point and Las Vegas furniture shows in the  U.S., exhibitors at IFEX 2015 showed a range of contemporary and traditional furniture and home furnishing products.

The focus was on wooden furniture and rattan furniture products, with the majority of exhibitors from Indonesia. Several exhibiting companies came from Taiwan, Malaysia and mainland China. A total of 8,000 trade buyers were expected to attend. The exhibition is hosted by the Indonesia Furniture Association, AMKRI.

"The furniture industry in Indonesia is enjoying very robust growth on the back of strong exports and surging domestic demand," Ernst Remboen, president of the show for UBM. "The nation has abundant supplies of sustainable raw materials such as wood, rattan, bamboo and natural textiles, as well as a highly skilled labor force and extensive manufacturing capacity."

Unlike other countries, "Indonesia is different because the country has all the raw materials and master craftsmanship in one place. This enables Indonesia to offer high quality products at highly competitive prices, something that countries such as Singapore or Malaysia cannot compete with," Remboen said.

Christopher Eve, Director of PT Dyandra UBM International, added, "Indonesia's great strength is in offering individualistic, handcrafted furniture using natural materials such as hardwood and rattan and traditional designs. It is not just the traditional furniture, but also the mass produced furniture products offered by Indonesian producers are of excellent quality. This is where I think Indonesia excels."

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