Posted by meb at January 31st, 2008

Players in Turkey’s expanding furniture industry will continue to meet over the next four days at the Istanbul Furniture Fair (IMOB) 2008 that began yesterday at the CNR Expo Fair Center in Istanbul.  Last year the fair attracted 66,712 visitors.

At present some 60,000 companies are active in Turkey’s furniture sector, the total business volume of which is estimated at $7 billion. In the past three years, the business volume increased by 40 percent. The main export destinations of the Turkish furniture industry are Germany, the Netherlands, France, the United States, Greece, Israel, Iraq and Iran.

In total, Turkish furniture is exported to 110 countries and the volume of exports reached $800 million last year. “In the past years the Turkish furniture sector has experienced rapid growth. The arrival of new large international players such as IKEA or cheaper goods from China has not had an impact on the market.  Turkish consumers still prefer high quality products that come with full service,” said İsmail Pehlivan, representative of Tutku Mobilya.

The fair has been organized by the Furniture Industry Association of Turkey (MOSDER) and Istanbul Fuarcılık (ITF).

Italian import trend:

Imports are also a feature of the fair. A representative of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Istanbul told the Turkish Daily News that furniture imports from Italy have been experiencing strong growth. “There is a growing trend in furniture, design and architecture imports from Italy to Turkey,” said Burak Bölükbaşı.

Lombardy Regional Minister for Handicraft and Services Domenico Zambetti will also visit the fair and take part in a session of the fair today together with Giuseppe Moggi, president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Istanbul, Roberto Calugi, senior manager of Promos,  the Milan Chamber of Commerce, Memduh Boydak, president of MOSDER and Nuri Gürcan president of Furniture Industry Worker’s Union (MOBSAD).

Source: Turkish Daily News