SINGAPORE, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang on Thursday called on the country’s furniture companies to sharpen their competitive edge in the face of increasing global competition.

    Speaking at the opening of the international furniture center here, Lim said that with industry trends, markets and know-how changing so rapidly, it is of utmost importance that Singapore’s companies be ready to take on new challenges and tap on emerging opportunities ahead.


    The strong competition is from two fronts, namely the first is from established European and American manufacturers who are producing high quality and well-designed furniture. The second is from the mass furniture manufacturers of emerging markets who engage in aggressive price-cutting strategies, he said.

    Another challenge is the growing worldwide concern over environmental sustainability, he said, adding that furniture companies are now beginning to look at incorporating environment-friendly processes in their production as well as to explore alternative sustainable sources of raw materials.

    Stressing the importance of the strategies to overcome these challenges, he said that furniture companies in the city state can leverage on to stay ahead of competition, namely, innovation and design, branding and internationalization.

    According to the minister, the global furniture manufacturing output, which has been growing at between 6 percent and 8 percent per year since 2002, is now worth more than 265 billion U.S. dollars. Asia’s share of global furniture exports grew from 18 percent in 1996 to 30 percent in 2012, while Europe’s share, reduced from 66 percent to 54 percent in the same period.

    Furniture output by Singapore-owned factories grew by an average of 15 percent per year, he said, adding that Singapore’s furniture manufacturers are optimistic about hitting a 20 percent annual growth for the next few years.

    Currently, Singapore’s share of the world furniture export market stands at 0.7 percent.
Editor: Wang Hongjiang