TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian furniture gained transactions worth US$6.11 million or Rp99.46 billion during the three days of the international exhibition in Dubai, INDEX 2024. The largest annual exhibition in the furniture, home decoration, and hospitality sectors in the Middle East and Africa region took place on June 4–6, 2024.

"There is still a huge attraction for Indonesian furniture products," said the Director of Export Development for Manufactured Products at the Ministry of Trade, Dewi Rokhayati, in a written statement, on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.

Dewi explained that Indonesia's furniture transactions increased by 454 percent compared to INDEX 2023. Last year, domestic household furniture products recorded transactions of US$1.1 million. She detailed the products in demand, namely console tables, chairs, and stools made of wood and rattan, rattan baskets, wall decorations, wooden outdoor furniture, decorative accessories, and kitchen equipment.

On the first day of the exhibition, the Indonesian Pavilion documented a trade agreement with a buyer from the UAE worth US$648,000. The agreement includes stools, tables, decorative products made from teak wood, outdoor furniture, rattan furniture, and hanging lamps.

Head of the Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) Dubai, Widy Haryono, said Indonesia's participation in INDEX 2024 aims to strengthen bilateral trade relations between Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, expand market reach, and improve the branding of Indonesian furniture products.

"We view Indonesia's participation in INDEX 2024 as an effort to utilize the Indonesia-UAE CEPA trade agreement," said Widy, referring to the trade agreement signed on July 1, 2022.

Widy said the Indonesian Pavilion is located strategically at INDEX 2024, attracting many buyers who are looking for Indonesian products, especially for hotel projects in Dubai. "Indonesia's presence at INDEX 2024 is in line with the increasing trend of residential development in the United Arab Emirates, especially hotel projects in Dubai," explained Widy.

Based on records from the Ministry of Trade, total bilateral trade between Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates in January-April 2024 reached US$1.60 billion, an increase of 9.54 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

HAN REVANDA PUTRA

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