Furniture producers urged to explore foreign markets

[ghazi52]

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Furniture producers urged to explore foreign markets

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir said on Friday that the government was committed to supporting the local furniture industry, to benefit its workers and broaden its export base.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of an exhibition titled ‘Interiors Pakistan’ by the Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC), the minister said Pakistan has a “significantly developed furniture industry that has deep traditional roots spread across the country”.

Applauding the work of local craftsmen, the minister said: “The variety and traditional expertise of woodworkers and craftsmen has a huge potential for exports, and can cater not only to the regular furniture market but also to the wealthy looking for unique furniture items.”

Mr Dastgir said the government encourages furniture makers and will guide them in exploring their export potential instead of just competing in the local market.

The exhibition, that will continue till Sunday, November 8, promotes furniture and other related products made locally in Pakistan.

The Pakistan Furniture Council expects 150,000 visitors at the exhibition to witness the artistic and innovative expertise by Pakistani craftsmen.

Some of the furniture on display at the exhibition on Friday. — Photos by Khurram Amin


Some 95 per cent of the furniture made in Pakistan is made from wood. The country has more than 700 furniture manufacturing workshops producing export quality furniture with Chiniot, Gujrat, Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi being the main producers. The furniture market is divided into home use, contract markets, supplying to hotels and restaurants, furniture for offices and for public spaces.

The Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of PFC, Mian Mohammad Kashif Ashfaq, said the exhibition is an opportunity for large furniture companies and interior designers in the country to display their works.

He said: “The potential is largely untapped and there is room for diversification. The market beyond Pakistani borders is substantially larger than the local market.”

The CEO said ‘Interiors Pakistan’ was a space to display furniture and promote it across the country and to introduce local manufacturers to the potentials that the international markets had to offer.


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[xyxmt]

Pakistani furniture could have good market in the western countries, specially Chinioti furniture

 

[Azadkashmir]

i have been to my end and where they chop trees and make tables chairs etc and very luxury but very expensive but worth it.

i cant believe the way they chop trees and carry it. its pure slave labour style they actually chop tree down with just a axe. Carry the whole goddamn tree on their shoulder like Arnold from commando style in the hot sun for miles. no wonder they go mad and start raping or look for fights.

 

[silent hawk]

There are a lot of talented furniture makers in Pakistan

 

[touela]

A couple of years ago, a family residing in Denmark, had a furniture factory in Gujrat. It was doing ok in Pakistan, so they decided to open a shop in DK. One day I went there, and the design looked like something from the 80's. They closed again after only 4 months....
It was very heavy furniture and everything was made of wood. No Pakistani went there to buy it.

IMO Pak furniture manufacturer should focus on modern styles..... Thumps up for those who do it.

 

[mubs]

I'm opening a shop to sell pakistani style furniture in London. I have a few beds, sofa sets and handmade carpets. It took me about a year and a half to get to this stage *** I havent just taken things from Pakistan but really worked on making sure the items work well in the UK (Fabrics, Sizing, Foam, Fire Safety Regulation are all UK standard). PM if anyone is interested in the designs or wants to see the type of products I have.

 

[somebozo]

Pakistani furniture is one of the best in the world but with no wood farming industry ...expanding exports is likely to deplete already endangered forests..

A couple of years ago, a family residing in Denmark, had a furniture factory in Gujrat. It was doing ok in Pakistan, so they decided to open a shop in DK. One day I went there, and the design looked like something from the 80's. They closed again after only 4 months....
It was very heavy furniture and everything was made of wood. No Pakistani went there to buy it.

IMO Pak furniture manufacturer should focus on modern styles..... Thumps up for those who do it.

Pakistani furniture designers try to copy Ottoman, Persian and Victorian grandeur style..which has a very rare market segment..and therefore due to lack of economies of scale..it is very expensive..but then this is what is demanded in the local market..if you have been to any business tycoon or wadera house you will understand what I mean..but what is perceived as first class in home country may be considered junk class in over seas market..Europeans especially prefer sleek and light weight furniture...

I have seen Pakistani furniture in Saudi which was literally clad in expensive stones..and a center table so heavy you cannot push it an inch...! This sort of stuff has its customer base but it is not for everybody!

 

[maximuswarrior]

We have some of the best wood. In Chitral much of the furniture is made from real quality tree wood. Heck, I got myself some real quality furniture from insane woodwork out of Chitral. Dining tables, cupboards and you name it. It is also very expensive, heavy and arguably not so good for nature when trees are lost. Luckily, in Chitral there are now tough restrictions to cutting trees. Like some members have said, the household Europeans prefer lightweight, modern and practical furniture designs. MDF has changed the landscape of woodwork. Just look at Ikea for instance. You go in, buy the modular set and are off to build it at home. Classic handmade furniture is very different and much more expensive. Perhaps a niche market, but a tiny one. They do exist in Europe, but you pay premium. Pakistan will have to revisit its design and marketing if it wants to enter other markets. Especially European ones. Competition is tough especially when you have the likes of Ikea. It won't be easy. If the manufacturers can offer competitive prices for real quality handicraft, they certainly have markets to explore.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Do consider Pakistani furniture to be of good quality , rugged furniture mostly bought by Rich class.

Sometimes there are very specic class of customers that buy the furniture style Pakistan makes. Its just matter of proper marketing the "right buying class"


There are always 2 type of buyers

a) Who are happy with cheap , breakble furniture etc fake wood (IKEA etc )
b) Folks who love rugged , wood furniture (Most of time these are select folks who appreciate classical styles)


I do wish that we grow the #of Trees in Pakistan before embarking on the mission to expand furniture export

 

[mubs]

Pakistani furniture is one of the best in the world but with no wood farming industry ...expanding exports is likely to deplete already endangered forests..

Pakistani furniture designers try to copy Ottoman, Persian and Victorian grandeur style..which has a very rare market segment..and therefore due to lack of economies of scale..it is very expensive..but then this is what is demanded in the local market..if you have been to any business tycoon or wadera house you will understand what I mean..but what is perceived as first class in home country may be considered junk class in over seas market..Europeans especially prefer sleek and light weight furniture...

Pakistan needs to manage it's wood resources much better. An export market would be good though because currently there are too many Pakistanis making poor quality furniture from good wood which is being wasted as they earn little from it. Some of the Rosewood Furniture in Pakistan is so cheap - you can get a seven seater carved Rosewood sofa set for 1500 USD but it is of low quality. The retailer and manufacturer are each earning a small margin, whereas if they made better items for export it would earn them more.

As an example, for the wooden, unfinished items I buy I normally pay double compared to the average quality item in the market.

I agree the styles are extremely out-dated, and it is correct that they are mostly copying European designs that died out in their homeland a hundred years ago. I had to look through hundreds of photos and only then found around 5 sofa designs that were useful. I had to change a lot of things even in those pics.

A strength of Pakistan is that they have a lot of variety and can make new designs quickly. I am sure given the motivation they could make designs more typically Pakistani and move away from the outdated European items.

We have some of the best wood. In Chitral much of the furniture is made from real quality tree wood. Heck, I got myself some real quality furniture from insane woodwork out of Chitral. Dining tables, cupboards and you name it. It is also very expensive, heavy and arguably not so good for nature when trees are lost. Luckily, in Chitral there are now tough restrictions to cutting trees.

That's pretty cool that you got furniture from Chitral. I think the main restriction against cutting wood is to protect Diyar (Cedrus Deodara) which is now very expensive in Pakistan. I understand why the restrictions have been put in place, and to be honest it's possible to get the Chitrali carving done in other woods. Infact, I bought a wardrobe from Swat and one from Islamabad with that type of work. They were both in Pine (imported from Switzerland) I think, it would need a stain because it is a light wood.

However, I found it quite difficult to get my hands on those types of 'tribal' products and the swat wardrobe didnt get delivered to me. I am curious about the Chitrali carving, is it similar to that of Swat, or quite different? There are some very good designs around that area.

Other than the unprofessional wood resource management, I think the biggest issue is getting the designs and product development to a stage where you have nice things that westerners want at a reasonable price.

For me though I am mostly looking to get Indian and Pakistani customers in the UK, not the white ones.