A new market trend
By HONG VAN – HCMC
Saigon Times Daily, Vietnam
Producing furniture us-ing a combination of wood and other materials like metals, rattan, cane and banana trees has become a new trend in the domestic wood processing industry in recent times.
Tran Quoc Manh, vice chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCMC (HAWA), says Vietnamese woodwork manufacturers should focus on furniture made from wood in combination with other materials in an effort to save wood and meet customers’ demand for quality and design.
“To attain sustainable development, Vietnamese wood processors should maintain export growth, create a wide range of products in various styles and save on wood,†Manh says, adding this is also a money-saving solution.
As an expert in the wood processing industry, Manh says Vietnam imports more than 80% of material wood from foreign countries. However, a 10-20% annual rise in prices and exporting countries’ restrictions on wood exports such as Malaysia and Indonesia are forcing local manufacturers to cut down on production costs and at the same time ensure product quality.
Furniture manufacturers have found that wood and other materials such as stainless steel, water-fern, rattan, cane, and banana trees can be utilized to make unique value-added products. For example, for outdoor products, a wooden chair is exported at US$25 but the price of a chair made from a combination of materials is US$32-35.
Such furniture products attract more customers from major markets, especially the U.S., the EU and Japan. Manh says these products would help to develop traditional handicrafts as well as encourage manufacturers to use low-cost materials in the country such as rattan, cane and banana trees.
A new market tendency in using furniture made by a combination of wood and other materials will create more opportunities for the local woodwork industry, Manh says, adding Vietnam has advantages in handicraft production.
However, it is local furniture enterprises that should follow the new trend bravely, because of the shortage of technical capacity and the lack of human resources in design, sales and marketing.
Manh, given his experience as general director of Sadaco, which is successful in producing and exporting furniture made from wood combined with other materials, says local manufacturers invest more in these products as a strategy. To adopt the global market tendency, domestic woodwork enterprises should focus on manufacturing such furniture or join forces with handicraft enterprises, Manh said.