South Asian shows still on
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, January 31, 2005
High Point — Officials with the Malaysian International Furniture Fair said Malaysia's furniture industry was unscathed by the tsunami in South Asia.
That bodes well for the upcoming market, which runs March 1–5 at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur.
The show is expected to feature more than 400 exhibitors from 13 countries, with about 60% of those indoor and office furniture makers and suppliers from Malaysia. The show has a much smaller number of exhibitors from Indonesia, and a handful from Thailand, whose coasts were hit by the tsunami.
In Malaysia, most manufacturing is either further inland or south of where damage occurred. In Indonesia, much of the manufacturing is in the Surabaya region, southeast of the hard-hit coastal areas.
The International Furniture Fair Singapore, also set for March 1–5, features more exhibitors from Indonesia than Malaysia. However, show officials did not report any changes in the show resulting from the disaster.
