Panels & Furniture Asia March/April 2024

FROM THE EDITOR
What’s new in South East Asia?
The new year kicked off with some
exciting announcements for the wood and
woodworking industry in South East Asia:
For starters, the EGGER Group has announced
they have acquired a minority stake in Thaibased
wood panel producer, Panel Plus. Both
sides get to benefit from this partnership —
EGGER benefiting from Panel Plus’ production
capabilities, Panel Plus benefiting from
EGGER’s industry knowledge — but from a
wider perspective, South East Asia might be
the biggest winner here. Details about the
acquisition can be found on page 12, and an
interview with the EGGER Group about their
investments in South East Asia can be read on
page 27.
Homing in on Vietnam, a new trade show has
been launched to tackle an “underserved”
market. Hanoi Wood Expo and Hanoi Furniture
Fittings & Upholstery are set to take place
from 29 May-1 Jun 2024 at the National
Exhibition Construction Centre (NECC) in
Hanoi (p.58). Hanoi targets the domestic
furniture market in Vietnam more so than its
export-oriented cities, Ho Chi Minh City and
Binh Duong, and in a time where exports are
greatly affected by rising US interest rates,
furniture manufacturers can turn to the
domestic market for support.
In this issue we have market updates
on the South East Asian market as well.
John Chan, regional director of American
Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) Greater
China and South East Asian regions, spoke
about the slowdown in US hardwood
exports to South East Asia in 2023 (p.14).
Undeterred by this, AHEC has plans to
boost their presence with several trade
visits and design shows across the region
this year.
Of course, beyond South East Asia, we
have articles from across the world. A
report by the International Tropical Timber
Organization (ITTO) on page 46 goes in
depth into how the tropical timber market
will be affected by the EU Deforestationfree
Regulation (EUDR). In spite of the
challenges put forth by the regulation,
the EUDR can still be seen as a “positive
development” for the tropical timber
trade. We also have an interesting article
on women empowerment in Pakistan,
where Wood-Mizer interviewed a furniture
manufacturer run by a majority of women
(p.19).
Give the issue a read — we hope you find
many perspectives here, be they local,
regional, or global.
Yap Shi Quan
EDITOR
PABLO SINGAPORE
William Pang • Publisher
williampang@pabloasia.com
Yap Shi Quan • Editor
shiquan@pabloasia.com
Pang YanJun •
Business Development Manager
yanjun@pabloasia.com
Goh Meng Yong • Graphic Designer
mengyong@pabloasia.com
Shu Ai Ling • Circulation Manager
ailing@pabloasia.com
PABLO BEIJING
Ellen Gao • General Manager
pablobeijing@163.com
PABLO SHANGHAI
Daisy Wang • Editor
pabloshanghai@163.net
Pablo Publishing & Exhibition Pte Ltd (Head Office)
3 Ang Mo Kio Street 62, #01-23, Link@AMK, Singapore 569139 • Tel: +65 6266 5512 • Email: info@pabloasia.com
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6 PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA | MARCH / APRIL 2024