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Jokowi wants RI furniture makers to claw back global market share
The President, who worked in the furniture industry before entering politics, has urged the nation's furniture companies to actively seek overseas collaboration to improve the value and renown of their products, as well as the country's share of the multibillion-dollar global market.
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A worker carries a rattan bundle on Monday for drying under the sun at a workshop in Doy Ulee Kareng village, Banda Aceh. The Indonesian Furniture Industry and Handicraft Association (IFFINA) is opposed to the government’s plan to facilitate the export of semifinished rattan, saying it would hurt the domestic industry. (Antara/Irwansyah Putra)
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ndonesia’s furniture industry was falling behind those of its neighbors like Vietnam and Malaysia, though the country was once one of the world’s leading producers decades ago, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said on Thursday at the Indonesian Meubel & Design Expo 2023.
Before entering politics, the President was in the furniture business in his hometown of Surakarta, Central Java.
Jokowi said the country’s furniture industry currently ranked 17th in global market share, compared to Vietnam in second and Malaysia in 12th.
He attributed the decline in ranking to the country’s lack of partnering with foreign markets, pointing out that many leading furniture-producing nations had established cooperation with overseas companies.
“In the ‘90s, Indonesia used to be leading international furniture exhibitions, be they in Germany, Italy or France,” he said, recalling the country’s past glory while opening the industry expo, organized by the Indonesian Furniture Industry and Handicraft Association (IFFINA) at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition in BSD City, Tangerang, Banten.
"We are now below Vietnam and Malaysia, although our human capital is actually very ready” for the global market, the President said.
Read also: Indonesian furniture-makers fear losing ground as IKEA expands
