Furniture exhibitions to help attract foreign investment

LAHORE: President Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Zubair Tufail said on Monday that furniture exhibitions would play a significant role in attracting foreign investors and boosting local hand-made furniture industry.

Talking to a delegation of Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC), headed by its Chief Executive Mian Kashif Ashfaq here, he appreciated holding of successful exhibitions on self-help basis in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore.

He said that the forthcoming 8th 3-day mega "Interiors Pakistan" expo, starting from July 7 in Karachi, would attract a good number of foreign investors and local buyers as the world best hand-made wood furniture products would be displayed there.

Zubair Tufail said that there was an urgent need to explore international market for boosting our exports as there was a lot of potential for increasing Pakistani furniture exports. He said that currently the volume of furniture export was very low, but a beginning had been made, and with an aggressive marketing strategy, it could be doubled in a short span of time.

He said that currently the textile sector was the country's largest industry in terms of exports, exporting $14 billion worth of goods annually. The second largest sector is rice, which generates $2 billion through exports, but Pakistan's furniture exports stand at a meager $51 million. He said that if the government extends support to the furniture companies, the volume of export could touch the figure of $5 billion during the next five years.

PFC Chief Executive Mian Kashif Ashfaq, on this occasion, apprised the FPCCI president of successful exhibitions of Interiors Pakistan. He said more than 100 leading companies and interior designers would display their products at the 8th mega exhibition and over 250,000 people are expected to visit the event.

He said the Pakistan furniture industry had a great potential and he predicted that the increased exposure through Interiors Pakistan would highlight the skill and talent in the country.