ALTHOUGH the growth of the local furniture exporting industry has plateaued, the industry remains to be one of
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\n the country\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s top export producers, according to an official of the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF).<\/p>\n
CFIF president Michael Basubas said the entry of new players, particularly in Metro Manila, contributed significantly to the country\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s export.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We are an industry with the reputation of refusing to die despite high labor and material costs\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Basubas told Sun.Star Cebu.<\/p>\n
Furniture ranked fifth, accounting for 3.48 percent, in Central Visayas\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 top exports during the first half of the year, according to the data from the Department of Trade and Industry 7 information network center.<\/p>\n
The US, Europe and the Middle East are the top markets of Philippine furniture, Basubas said.<\/p>\n
He added that the industry has not encountered any problem in the export of locally produced furniture since the sector itself complied with the standards set by the importing countries.<\/p>\n
China and Vietnam remain to be the sector\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s major competitors because of their cheaper costs for labor and raw materials.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t compete with them in terms of volume because China, for example, is able to export materials in ship loads, unlike the Philippines, where we only use container loads and that spells a 20 percent difference,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Basubas said.<\/p>\n
Support<\/p>\n
He added that the closure of several local companies was due to the increasing cost of production, the rising power and labor costs, the dwindling supply of industrial designers and the lack of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153aggressive\u00e2\u20ac\u009d support from the government.<\/p>\n
To address these challenges, he said \u00e2\u20ac\u0153merging\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is now a trend among industry players to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153generate higher income.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Basubas revealed that the industry will employ new strategies that will encourage manufacturers to produce globally competitive products.<\/p>\n
Seeing the potential for designer-type furniture, CFIF will be tapping the expert furniture designers from Europe to train local manufacturers.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have the advantage for these types of furniture because we have much better craftsmanship compared with other countries,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Basubas said.<\/p>\n
He reported that with the resurgence of the rattan-made furniture, the coun-try\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s local produce continues to attract the global market because of its \u00e2\u20ac\u0153new and improved look.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rattan-made furniture is a combination of indigenous raw materials made of abaca, banana barks, seashells and coco shells, among others.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In order for the furniture industry to stay alive, we need to be innovative in our designs to suite the taste of our foreign and domestic markets,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Basubas said.<\/p>\n
CFIF has 174 members from all over the province. (MMM)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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