Furniture manufacturers cannot deliver the orders they receive due to the raw material sold to the rival country China, which is not supplied to the domestic market. Producers, "Last week, the income of the products in the containers exported to China was approximately 400 thousand dollars, if you sell the same product to the domestic market, your profit would be around 2 million dollars. You export and bring hot foreign currency, but the producer in the domestic market is at the point of closing the shutter," they say.
In Turkey, where tradesmen have had a hard time with the economic crisis and coronavirus pandemic, furniture manufacturers are also a troubled group. Products such as MDF and chipboard, which are the main raw materials of the industry, have increased by more than 100 percent. Despite these hikes, producers who want to buy products cannot find MDF and chipboard in the market. The biggest reason for the raw material shortage is export. The products sold even to the rival country China, which was exported due to the hot foreign exchange inflow, brought the domestic market to the point of exhaustion.
"THE PRICE OF MDF REACHED 285 LIRA FROM 140 LIRA"
Özcan Ayhan, Chairman of the İnegöl Chamber of Carpenters and Furnituremakers, "Our problem, which started with sponge and glass since 2020, continues with chipboard and MDF raw materials at the beginning of 2021. Our tradesmen are experiencing serious difficulties due to their insufficient level and price hikes. Raw material suppliers throughout Turkey continued their production. The first 6 months of 2020 passed with a pandemic. In the last 6 months, intense demand has been encountered. But at the beginning of 2021, it became impossible to reach raw materials. While 18 millimeters of raw MDF was 140 pounds, it has reached 285 pounds today. We learned that the raw material needed for import is going to be exported. The domestic market started to suffer. 50-60 thousand people make a living in this profession in İnegöl. The absence of these price hikes and materials puts us in trouble. We cannot deliver our products on time. This is not only a problem for İnegöl, but for Turkey as a whole," he said.
“WE CAN DELIVER THE ORDER IN 3 MONTHS”
Furniture manufacturer Ahmet Yıldız, "We have been experiencing a raw material problem for about one and a half to two years. There are serious problems with MDF and chipboard as the main raw material. Although there is an increase of over 100 percent, we cannot find the products. There are two hikes every month, but we still have difficulty finding it. The reason for this is that the raw material is sold abroad. The furniture maker in the domestic market cannot find a product. Small and medium sized companies are very unlucky in this regard. Large-scale companies can print and buy raw materials, but small companies become incapable of doing business. It takes 3 months to make and ship the product. Which customer expects 3 months? I think the government has a hot foreign exchange policy. The policy of saving today is not healthy. The earnings of the products in the containers exported to China last week are approximately 400 thousand dollars. But if you serve the same product to the domestic market, your earnings would be around 2 million dollars. You export and bring hot foreign currency, but the producer in the domestic market is at the point of closing the shutter," he said.