Institutions needed to help furniture sector

Council CEO says locals need training as per global standards to compete

LAHORE: The Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC) has requested the government to give furniture and interior decoration the  industry status, pointing towards its potential to generate foreign exchange revenue through exports.

The PFC said exports in 2014 were $51 million, which declined to a meagre $7 million in 2015, as an absence of an institutionalised setup has hit the furniture makers hard.



“We need government support to strengthen this sector as we believe it could generate at least $10 billion in exports if the requisite processes get streamlined,” PFC CEO Mian Kashif Ashfaq said in an interview with The Express Tribune. 

On training

Ashfaq said the main issue is the dearth of middle management and nearly no institutions to train carpenters who are working in family oriented setups in different clusters.

“Couple of government owned institutions are providing training to such carpenters, however, they are not up to global standards,” he said.

PFC collaborated with some Italian companies to train staff, who passed on their experiences to local carpenters. Additionally, the PFC is currently working on bringing a few Italian furniture experts to Pakistan and negotiations with nearly 10 local furniture associations have been a success, Ashfaq added.

Furniture and interior decorators are in ample demand in Pakistan and different clusters of artisans, including those operating in Gujarat, Lahore, Chiniot, Sargodha, Peshawar and Karachi, are famous for providing handmade solid and classic furniture lines.

However, majority of the carpenters are not aware of the innovations that have been made over the years and how these latest tools can add much needed value to their products.

Inputs

The raw product of choice for local artisans is rose-wood (Sheesham) that neither yields high quality furniture, nor is widely available, according to some industry experts who added that at least 80% of rose-wood has to be imported from Europe and Africa.



Ashfaq said that PFC is taking up the matter with the government to encourage the cultivation of rose wood.

He also requested the government to curb the import of Chinese furniture, which currently caters to around 30% of Pakistan’s total demand. “This step is a must if government wants to protect the local industry.”

Exhibits

PFC is a cartel of renowned groups, currently fulfilling the demand for high-end furniture. According to Ashfaq, although the council has existed since 2003, it was only in 2006 that it became operational. From the year 2013, the council started to organise furniture exhibitions primarily to showcase local furniture and interiors to the rest of the world, especially potential export hotspots, which consists of Middle East, United States, United Kingdom and Brazil. To date, the council has organised four exhibitions and is looking to increase the number of exhibitions in coming years.

Currently, the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan is facilitating PFC conduct exhibitions. “We are looking to expand these exhibits beyond Pakistan, which has already given the sector the much needed recognition globally.

We need to work extremely hard on every aspect, which starts from providing up-to date trainings, bettering the infrastructure, enhancing manufacturing capacity and adopting usage of modern hardware and tools,” Ashfaq added.

PFC has started the journey but it will take many years to achieve the target since Pakistan needs to revamp the entire sector as per global standards, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2016.

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