‘Furniture and Living Expo’
Islamabad : The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) in collaboration with RF Events (SMC-Private) Limited, has held a 3 days ‘Furniture and Living Expo,’ in order to promote furniture Industry in the country.
The expo starting from February 19 will conclude today (Sunday), showcasing wide variety of furniture and interior products of the region being offered in the Expo at discounted prices to the consumers.
ICCI President Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan inaugurated the Furniture Expo as chief guest.
Speaking at the occasion, he said that the global furniture market was estimated at over $500 billion, but Pakistan’s share in it was quite nominal.
He urged that the government to provide support to furniture manufacturers and exporters in organizing exhibitions in foreign countries to promote Pakistan’s exports in the international market.
He said that Pakistani foreign missions should also explore the potential of Pakistani furniture products in their respective countries and share such information with chambers of commerce.
He said that government help was needed to introduce high-tech machinery and establish more training centres to produce more skilled workers for the furniture industry that would accelerate the growth of this important sector.
ICCI president asked the federal and provincial governments to allocate land for setting up furniture cities in metropolitans of the country that would give a boost to this sector and enhance its exports.
He assured that ICCI would fully cooperate in resolving the key issues of furniture businesses so that they could play a more effective role in promoting exports.
Dr. Nazish Faisal, CEO of RF Events (Pvt.) Limited said that there was an urgent need to explore more markets for boosting furniture exports.
She urged the government to take measures to address the key issues of the furniture industry including high utility costs, improper wood seasoning, substandard finishing, packing problems. She said that by improving designs and quality, Pakistan could achieve far better results from the furniture industry. -- APP
