BEIJING - China has
seen a rapid development of its furniture industry
in recent years, attracting the attention of many
big-name world furniture manufacturers.
The furniture industry has entered a
fast-growth stage, and a complete industrial chain
now exists for the sector, in keeping with
international trends. It now produces various
types of products, which can satisfy domestic
needs as well as international customers. Industry
experts expect a second high-speed development
stage in the coming 5-10 years, as the furniture
industry worldwide readjusts the distribution of
its production.
In the second stage of
high-speed development, China's furniture industry
will focus on quality upgrading, not solely
quantity
expansion; it has only
focused on quantity expansion thus far. It will
basically achieve the target of transforming from
high-volume, low-quality furniture production to a
high-volume, high-quality one by improving
technology, upgrading product quality, and
changing the mode of growth.
China's good
investment environment, high-level support system
and low labor costs will remain attractive to
foreign investors. Appreciation of the euro and
depreciation of the US dollar have boosted the
prices of raw materials for European furniture
enterprises and affected their exports. At the
same time, the world furniture industry is
conducting a readjustment of its production
structure and speeding up a shift to China. The
diversification of export markets and products has
also provided opportunities for China to increase
its exports of furniture.
According to
customs statistics, China's total furniture
exports reached US$10.353 billion in 2004, a surge
of 39.3% year-on-year. According to the China
Association of Furniture Industry, the country's
import of furniture was $130.095 million in the
first quarter of this year, plummeting about 60%
year-on-year, and exports were $3.12833 billion,
jumping 34.26%. Of this, exports of wood furniture
were $919.457 million, up 23.44%; metal furniture,
$482.132 million, up 47.62%; and plastic
furniture, $58.127 million, up 40.61%. Export of
other types of furniture was $1.517046 billion,
including $19.29 million worth of mattresses, up
50.2%, and $132.279 million of furniture parts, up
38.95%. Based on the growth in the first quarter,
China's export of furniture is likely to top $14
billion this year.
Many foreign furniture
exporters have become furniture purchasers in
China. Sweden's Ikea, which ranks first in sales
of furniture in the world, has moved its global
procurement center from Singapore to China. It has
set up five local procurement centers in such
Chinese cities as Harbin, Qingdao, Guangzhou,
Yunnan and Shanghai. At the same time, thousands
of retailers in Europe are considering importing
furniture from Asia countries, including China. A
procurement group from the United States stationed
in Dongguan in south China's Guangdong province,
one of the biggest furniture-making cities in
China, purchases 500 containers of furniture each
month for sale in the US.
The furniture
industry was one of the sectors first opened to
the outside world. In the early economic reform
period, overseas investment came mainly from Hong
Kong, Macao and Taiwan with investment focusing on
the Pearl River Delta area. Taiwan businesses have
opened more than 500 furniture plants in mainland
China, of which the Dongguan Taisheng Furniture Co
Ltd is a famous one, exporting $200 million worth
of furniture to the United States each year.
Guangdong province in South China now ranks first
among Chinese provinces in furniture exports, and
is becoming a significant part of the world
furniture industry.
There are indicators
showing that various big furniture production
enterprises and dealers in the world are
intensifying their competition for a slice of the
China pie. According to a long- and medium-term
development plan in China announced by Ikea, the
company will open more than 10 standard stores in
China. Estimating that each new store will
generate 1 billion yuan (US$123.5 million) in
sales annually, the opening of the 10 outlets will
increase Ikea's annual sales in China to 10
billion yuan.
Singapore furniture first
entered the China market in 1995, and now
Singapore furniture enterprises have invested $100
million in Kunshan City in East China's Jiangsu
province for construction of a furniture industry
zone. The zone now has more than 10 enterprises in
operation, and some have started exporting
furniture to other countries and regions. At the
same time, Italian furniture enterprises have
seized every opportunity to expand market share in
big and midsize cities in China by designating
sales agents, opening shops and setting up
assembly plants.
Furniture has become an
important export commodity for China. This is due
to the large-scale investment of foreign
enterprises, large and low-cost labor force in
China and huge demand on the international market.
With the launch of big foreign furniture
purchasing centers, well-known furniture
production enterprises from such countries as the
United States, Japan and Italy are flexing their
muscles by setting up plants in China. These
wholly foreign-owned and Sino-foreign joint
venture and cooperative enterprises together will
become an important force in China's future
furniture exports.
