I see economic data in the US, which, I think, has started to rebound, so God willing, it will have a positive impact on the furniture industryJakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita has said that he will support efforts to achieve furniture and handicraft exports of US$5 billion in 2024.
"We, the government, together with HIMKI (Indonesian Furniture and Handicraft Industry Association), want to realize the export target of US$5 billion by 2024," he remarked at the opening of the 2022 Indonesian Furniture Exhibition at JIExpo Kemayoran here on Thursday.
He said he is optimistic that the target can be achieved considering that exports of the furniture industry in 2021 reached US$2.5 billion, up 33 percent compared to the previous year.
In 2022, global furniture industry consumption is expected to grow by 3.9 percent, supported by European government policies to provide stimulus for economic recovery.
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The global furniture industry revenue is also expected to continue to increase consistently from US$1.3 trillion in 2020 to US$1.8 trillion in 2025.
“We can clearly and clearly capture the global optimism in this industry. Therefore, the domestic furniture industry should not lose in capturing this opportunity,” the minister said.
Although a decline in demand was estimated in the first quarter of 2022 due to inflation in the United States and Europe, Kartasasmita forecast that the demand from Indonesia's two main furniture export markets will recover soon.
"I see economic data in the US, which, I think, has started to rebound, so God willing, it will have a positive impact on the furniture industry," he said.
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He further assured that he will follow up on the illegal export of furniture raw materials, which would take away the added value from downstream industry and exports.
"This is also relevant to President Jokowi's (Joko Widodo’s) speech, which continues to emphasize the importance of downstreaming," he added.
On average, 50 percent of Indonesian furniture is exported every year to the United States and another 20 percent to Europe.
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Translator: Sanya Dinda, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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