Event 01 March 2024
TANGERANG. CAFA (Council of Asia Furniture Association) held its 25th annual general meeting. In this 2024 general meeting, CAFA chose Indonesia as the host, and ASMINDO as the host. This is an honor and the first experience for Indonesia, since 25 years ago. The series of CAFA annual general meeting activities were held on February 27-28, 2024 at VIVERE Hotel, Gading Serpong Tangerang, which was attended by 32 CAFA member delegates from 10 countries.
As part of this series of activities, several other activities were also carried out, namely: (1) signing of the MoU between ASMINDO and CNFA (China National Furniture Association); (2) reading and signing of the initiative on "bamboo as a substitute for plastics in Asian furniture industries"; (3) conference, with the theme: "promoting sustainable furniture ecosystem leading to net zero emission"; (4) factory and campus visits; (5) exhibition of bamboo and rattan furniture and handicraft products; and (5) gala dinner.
The CAFA conference was opened by the Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs (Teten Masduki), and the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Sandiaga Uno) who delivered his remarks through videotaping. The CAFA conference was attended by around 200 participants from relevant ministries/agencies (Kemenkop & UKM, Kemenperin, Kemendag, Kemenparekraf, KLHK, BKPM, BRIN, etc), local governments, universities, furniture and handicraft businesses, and supported by ASMINDO's strategic partners (VIVERE Group, Interzum Furniture, Mahala Imaji Kreasi, Katadata etc).
In his speech, the chairman of ASMINDO (Dedy Rochimat) said that Indonesia has enormous potential to become the center of world furniture development and production. Indonesia has abundant natural resources spread across 17 thousand islands, especially related to sustainable raw materials for the furniture industry, a very rich culture, unique furniture designs based on local wisdom, and supported by the fourth largest population in the world. This potential needs to be continuously developed, in synergy with all domestic stakeholders, and mutually beneficial international collaboration. Indonesia is the largest and best producer of rattan in the world, as well as being one of the countries with the third largest bamboo wealth in the world. All of this potential needs to be immediately utilized and developed so that it can contribute positively to increasing the contribution of the furniture industry to generate foreign exchange and community welfare.
The rapid development of infrastructure is followed by an increasing need for furniture, especially environmentally friendly furniture. This is due to the increasing public awareness of the importance of preserving the environment, so in the future, the world furniture trend will lead to environmentally friendly furniture, so the demand for environmentally friendly furniture will experience significant growth. The growth in demand for eco-friendly furniture reached 8.6%, double the growth in overall furniture, which was only 4.3%. The demand for eco-friendly furniture is expected to reach 51.02 billion USD by 2022. Although this is only 6.7% of the overall furniture demand of USD 766 billion, by 2060, the demand for eco-friendly furniture is expected to account for more than 25% of the overall furniture demand. The Asian region is the main driver of furniture market growth. The demand for eco-friendly furniture in the Asian region is growing at 10% per year, higher than the overall furniture market growth of 8.18% per year. Furniture demand in the Asian region is estimated to reach USD 179.20 billion by 2024, and USD 9.37 billion (or 5.23%) of it is contributed by demand for eco-friendly furniture. This relatively high growth in demand for eco-friendly furniture is a great opportunity that we must respond to together, by creating eco-friendly furniture research and production centers in industrial areas, including industrial areas in Indonesia.
We need to set targets together and develop concrete work steps to generate the value of furniture and craft exports to the global market of 1% of the world market or around 7 billion USD per year in the next few years. The keyword is the synergy and collaboration of all stakeholders, including related ministries, furniture and handicraft industries, raw material producers, designers, and educational institutions that produce excellent human resources in the field of furniture and handicrafts.
To utilize bamboo and rattan as the main material, the CAFA delegates signed an agreement/initiative on "Bamboo as Substitute for Plastics in Asia", and in particular, ASMINDO signed an MoU with the China National Furniture Association (CNFA) as well. There are six areas of cooperation contained in the MoU, namely: (1) information exchange in the furniture industry, (2) branding collaboration, (3) professional training programs, (4) supply of industry supporting materials, (5) sustainable development activities, and (6) investment.
First, information exchange is needed to learn about standards, policies, and regulations related to the furniture industry, as well as exhibition schedules in both countries.
Secondly, brand development collaboration is carried out by filling exhibition spaces in both countries and other activities such as seminars, press conferences, and others. Indonesian furniture and handicraft products, which are known to be artistic and of high quality and crafted by skilled artisans, need to be better known by upper-middle-class Chinese consumers who appreciate art and seek emotional values.
Third, professional training programs are conducted by conducting factory visits to China by ASMINDO member SMEs, bringing in furniture technology and management experts from China in cooperation with universities in Indonesia. This activity is very necessary to improve the knowledge managerial skills and mastery of technology of Indonesian furniture practitioners and business people, especially SMEs.
Fourth, cooperation related to the supply of industrial supporting materials is needed to make it easier for Indonesian furniture industry players to get the right supporting materials on an efficient scale to improve the quality of finished products.
Fifth, cooperation related to sustainable development is carried out, including developing and encouraging the use of environmentally friendly raw materials, such as bamboo, rattan, and natural fibers.
Sixth, investment is urgently needed to fund research and development of eco-friendly raw materials, such as research to maximize the benefits of Indonesia's abundant bamboo and rattan. Investment is also needed to bring in the state-of-the-art technology required to build modern, integrated eco-friendly furniture factories in Indonesia. Indonesia is rich in eco-friendly raw materials. For this reason, processing activities must be carried out in Indonesia to maximize the multiplier effect, including opening new jobs.
To encourage the promotion and marketing of furniture and handicraft products, ASMINDO will again hold the IFFINA exhibition, which will be held on September 14-17, 2024 at ICE, BSD. IFFINA is an international exhibition featuring Indonesian furniture and craft products. IFFINA 2024 carries the theme Sustainable by Design to encourage the practice of sustainability and attention to the environment in the furniture industry. IFFINA 2024 is the 12th edition organized by ASMINDO. IFFINA will be a showcase for furniture, craft, homeware, home fabric, and decorative accessory products for Indonesian producers, especially small and medium enterprises. IFFINA 2024 targets 12,000 visitors and 400 exhibitors. As a meeting point for designers, manufacturers, and buyers, the IFFINA ecosystem plays an important role as a marketing aggregator for Indonesian furniture and crafts.
