Bangladeshi furniture gets good response from local, foreign buyers

Bangladesh received orders for furniture from Qatar, a Middle Eastern country, and got lots of enquiries from the Bangladesh Furniture and Interior Decor Expo-2014, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) vice chairman said Tuesday.
 "We have talked to the participants and all of them said that they have got good response from foreign as well as local visitors. The response is better than the previous years," EPB vice chairman Shubhashish Bose told the FE.
He said the statistics on export orders and enquiries will be compiled after the fair conclude.
The three-day-long Bangladesh Furniture and Interior Decor Expo-2014 held is being at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) that concluded on Tuesday.
Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh Furniture Exporters Association (BFEA) and Bangladesh Handicrafts Manufacturers and Exporters Association (Banglacraft) are jointly organizing the fair in association with Bangladesh Jute Diversified Product Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BJDPMEA), Bangladesh Furniture Industries Owners' Association (BFIOA) and Jute Diversification Promotion Centre (JDPC).
Partex Furniture Industries Ltd sales officer Md Shariful Kabir said, "We have got god response from the local buyers and poor response from the foreign buyers. But we are hopeful as we have enquiries."    
 "We are quite satisfied with response from the local agents of foreign buyers, local interior designers as well as diversified jute and jute goods exporters of Bangladesh," Creation Private Ltd managing director Md Rashedul Karim Munna said.
"Besides, we have also got some foreign buyers. We are hopeful that we have got lots of enquiries," he said.
Core de studio chief executive officer Muhammad Jahidul Islam said, "I have got huge response for my terracotta products from local and foreign buyers in Germany and other countries."
 "I have got big response from local corporate houses and real estate companies. Besides, my jute and jute products also got positive response," he said.
Bangladesh exported furniture worth $25.42 million during July to February this fiscal year (FY 2013-14) compared to $ 19.20 million of the same period last fiscal, EPB data showed.
Around 51 companies are participating in the fair. Fifteen participants are from furniture sector while the rest are from home furnishing products. This fair is one-stop market for the global buyers, showcasing the latest design of furniture and interior decor items.