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Thursday, March 04, 2004
Furniture makers welcome bulk-buying facility: CFIF
By Jessica B. Natad
THE common bulk-buying facility for the furniture sector in Cebu promised by Trade and Industry Secretary Cesar Purisima will be a great help to the industry.
According to Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. (CFIF) president Jay Yuvallos, the facility will lower the cost of raw materials for furniture and home accent products, which are mostly imported.
“Suppliers give discounts to buyers who buy in bulk. If we have this facility in Cebu, the cost of the raw materials will lessen, decreasing the operations cost of our furniture manufacturers and allowing them to price their products competitively,” he said during the recently concluded Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition or Cebu X 2004 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
One of the concerns of Cebu’s furniture industry is that it could not compete with the low prices of the furniture produced by other countries in Asia, especially China.
The country’s furniture manufacturers import more than 50 percent of their raw materials such as lumber and paint.
Yuvallos said most furniture manufacturers, especially those who do not have ready markets yet, are hesitant to import in bulk because this will affect their inventory.
Purisima also vowed to help market the industry’s products, and formulate policies that will benefit the industry, such as reviving the tax exemption on imported capital equipment, Yuvallos said.
There are currently 326 furniture exporting firms in Cebu, of which 173 are CFIF members.
(March 4, 2004 issue)
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