Experts discussed support measures for furniture export

25 / 11 / 2020

Panel of Russian Export Center: support of furniture export has taken place within the Mebel 2020 online programme of supporting events. The event was organised by the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Russian Export Center (REC) and EXPOCENTRE AO.

The moderator of the meeting, Director of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Committee on Exhibition, Fair and Convention Activities Sergey Selivanov thanked EXPOCENTRE for holding the Mebel accompanying programme online and gathering the representatives of the furniture industry to discuss the industry issues in conditions of the coronavirus crisis. According to him, the current situation in the furniture industry, as in most other industries, is affected by changes in consumer behaviour, the emergence of new forms of interaction with customers, and the consolidation of furniture companies. Despite the fact that the share of domestic furniture products in the global market does not exceed one percent, experts highly estimate the export potential of the industry.

As Anna Sadovnichaya, Deputy General Director of EXPOCENTTRE AO, noted in her opening speech, the distinctive feature of the Mebel exhibition is the high quality of business contacts. According to her, participation in Mebel opens the way to foreign markets for Russian companies. The REC, with which EXPOCENTRE has been cooperating for more than 5 years, helps participants in this area. During this time EXPOCENTRE and REC have organised 54 Russian expositions at exhibitions and business missions in 11 countries.

In his opening speech, Timur Irtuganov, General Director of the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia, thanked EXPOCENTRE for the opportunity to organise such an online meeting. More than 500 people have already taken part in the events of the supporting programme of the Mebel exhibition in two days, he said, calling it a significant result.

"Furniture export is an industry that the state can be proud of," said Timur Irtuganov. - Over the last three years it has shown explosive growth rates". The main countries that export furniture are Austria, Belarus, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Poland, Spain, Ukraine and the USA. Russian furniture is in demand on the world markets in terms of price and quality, believes Timur Irtuganov. Despite the slight decline in furniture production in 2020, furniture exports grew by almost 40 percent in the third quarter of this year. Under these conditions, offline exhibitions are becoming particularly important for promoting domestic products on foreign markets. He expressed the hope that in 2021 the budget for covering the costs of companies participating in exhibitions will be increased.

Maxim Chapov, Head of the Consumer Goods Export Support Project at the Russian Export Center, spoke in detail about financial and non-financial measures to support domestic furniture exporters. He reminded that the REC has extensive tools to support Russian exporters, including insurance and credit support, as well as expert, analytical and legal support.

Maxim Chapov also announced a new product for exporters, which will be launched on November 26, 2020 - "One Window". The new information system will allow access to all exporter support programmes at once. The REC is planning to present it in December at the forum "Made in Russia", which will be held online.

Mebel 2020 online programme of supporting events: https://www.meb-expo.ru/ru/events/

Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO


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