Furniture manufacturers, which exported $183 million to the USA in 2020, will double the number with the logistics center to be opened this year. MOSFED President Gulec said, “Logistics centers will be the driving force.”
The steps taken in line with the target of $100 billion trade volume between Turkey and the USA started to bear fruit. In this context, one of the fastest results is obtained with the increase in furniture exports. In 2020, approximately $283 million were exported to the USA in furniture, paper and forest products, while $183 million of this was made by furniture manufacturers.
In the first five months of this year, the furniture industry managed to export over $108 million to the USA. The sector, which plans to increase the figure to over $1 billion this year, has started to lay the building blocks of this target. In this context, the sector rolled up its sleeves to establish the USA Overseas Logistics Center and completed all the procedures.
The sector, which is impatient to open a 10 thousand square meter logistics center in Los Angeles, California, will increase exports by five to $1 billion by the end of this year.
Furniture Associations Federation (MOSFED) President Ahmet Gulec said, “With the Overseas Logistics Centers project, our furniture will go to the USA from Turkey. It will be sent to the states faster according to the demand there. Thus, supply chain costs will be reduced, stock management will be provided, and orders will arrive in a short time. For our exporters, the USA will no longer be a distant market.”
2023 TARGET IS $3 BILLION
Explaining that they exported $108 million only in furniture to the USA in the first five months of the year, Gulec noted that logistics centers will be the driving force. Gulec stated that with the opening of the center, exports will increase five times and reach $1 billion, “This will be $2 billion in 2022 and $3 billion in 2023.”
“There are no barriers to achieving that,” he said.
EMPLOYMENT OF 500 THOUSAND PEOPLE
Pointing out that the exports of furniture, paper and forestry products increased by 37% in May, Gulec said, “We achieved $2.6 billion of exports in the first 5 months, growing 28% compared to the same period of the previous year. The five leading markets in the furniture sector were Germany, the USA, France, Israel and Iraq. “Our industry continues its growth momentum. We will reach our end-of-year target of $4 billion,” he said. Pointing out that the furniture industry feeds the entire production industry, he said, “About 21 different jobs are direct customers of the subject. It provides 500 thousand employments.”
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz