Delegates at the"Asean Market Attraction" forum organised by Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City and the Asean Furniture Industry Council agreed that the region boasts many great advantages in terms of materials, production, design, distribution and market size in wood and furniture processing.
Their export to production ratio is more than double the global average of around 30%t with South-East Asia's wood and furniture exports meeting 5% of demand in the US and 2% in Western Europe, he said. Khanh said: “While the Asean market is obviously large, the question is how to enable Vietnamese and regional enterprises to exploit that potential?
“Asean countries compete with each other. Therefore, a larger common goal is needed to create cohesion, consensus and co-operation for mutual prosperity. There should be vertical links between strong producers like Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos and Myanmar and those strong in trade, design and services like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, he said.