"This is something that we should be grateful for. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, (the exports of) national furniture and crafts still recorded a quite impressive growth," Indonesia's Furniture and Craft Industry Association's (HIMKI) Presidium Chairman Abdul Sobur noted in a written statement on Tuesday.
According to Sobur, during the first semester of 2021, the exports of furniture and crafts were valued at US$1.687 billion, a 35.41-percent increase from the corresponding period of 2020.
The HIMKI presidium chairman noted that the US remained the primary furniture export destination, with a 50.2-percent contribution, followed by Japan, with 7.4 percent; the Netherlands, 5.3 percent; Germany, 4.3 percent; Belgium, 3.9 percent; Australia, 3.6 percent; and England, 3.3 percent.
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A similar trend was also observed with craft exports, with the US being the primary export destination, contributing some 44.4 percent of the total exports, followed by Malaysia, with 12.6 percent; Japan, 7.8 percent; and the Netherlands, 3.7 percent.
Sobur explained that increasing demand from the US comes as a positive outcome of the country's fiscal stimulus policy that raised household income and supported sustainable spending for all goods.
He pointed out that the lack of furniture supply from China owing to the trade war between both nations had compelled the US to shift its order from China to other countries.
However, Sobur noted that furniture and craft imports had also steadily increased at the same time that could threaten the market share of the local industry.
Moreover, despite the increase in exports, several issues continued to plague Indonesia's furniture and export industry, including the stability of wood pricing and supply and the rising freight costs.
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Translator: Risbiani Fardaniah, Fadhli Ruh
Editor: Suharto
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