Share Market Live

NSE

The Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) and the World Furniture Confederation (WFC) on Friday (August 18) inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at establishing furniture industrial clusters within the country.

The MoU was signed during the Annual General Meeting of the World Furniture Confederation, held in Dongguan, China, and attended by over 500 business and industry representatives from around the globe.

Representing India at the event, Mohit Singla, Chairman of the Trade Promotion Council of India, joined hands with Mr. Xu Xiangnan, Chairman of the World Furniture Confederation and President of the China National Furniture Association.

This collaboration between TPCI and WFC is set to ignite a transformative journey for the organised furniture manufacturing sector in India. The main objective of the MoU is to facilitate the sharing of best practices and expertise, creating a seamless end-to-end ecosystem that fosters the growth of furniture manufacturing in the country.

Singla, commenting on this partnership, expressed his optimism: "This MoU will promote engagement with global major furniture manufacturers, promote Make in India for domestic and export markets and is the first signal of global cooperation in the organised furniture sector for India. The organized furniture industry will help in efficient and cost-effective manufacturing at globally competitive prices."

He also highlighted that this cooperation is expected to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), enhance India's furniture exports, and reduce the country's dependency on furniture imports.

Chairman TPCI also underlined the immense potential that the furniture sector holds for India: "Recent study of the potential sector has revealed great demand for plug and play clusters as the only possible means of achieving competitiveness, which is much desired for import substitution and export prowess."

Expounding on the export prospects, Singla noted, "India enjoys zero duty on all considered products for export of furniture to the US market, which clearly underlines the big advantage to enter the US market."

India's current furniture industry is largely unorganised and fragmented, with a predominant focus on hand-crafted furniture. However, with this strategic partnership between TPCI and WFC, the nation is poised to tap into its latent potential and leverage its strengths to position itself as a formidable player in the global furniture trade.

The furniture industry worldwide accounts for a staggering USD 250 billion in trade, with both the EU and China exporting around USD 100 billion each.

Notably, the US, the largest importer of furniture, brings in a massive USD 72 billion worth of furniture imports annually. This presents India with a remarkable opportunity to amplify its furniture exports and emerge as a key player in the global market.