The objectives of this project were to examine the use of lumber products in the furniture (including cabinetry) and interior finish industries in China’s largest production centres for furniture and interior finish products, and to assess the potential and opportunities for lumber from British Columbia.
Rising disposable incomes and the urbanization of China’s population continue to drive demand for new housing and increased spending on home furnishings. As a result, the furniture and interior finish industries have developed rapidly in the last decade. By comparison, China’s market for structural applications for wood products is small at present.
A total of 137 furniture manufacturers and 132 producers of interior finish in eastern and southern China were surveyed by phone, mail/fax, and in personal interviews in November and December 2003. The eastern region comprises Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui and Zhejiang, while Guangdong province represents the southern region.
This market research was carried out in conjunction with a survey of non-structural wood-based panel users for the Wood Panel Bureau/Forestry Innovation Investment.