The Turkish furniture industry, which has been transforming lifestyles by establishing a perfect balance between aesthetics and functionality with expertly crafted woodwork for centuries, continues to prove its success with increasing export figures and expanding markets every year. Türkiye’s goal, which has managed to increase its furniture exports 21 times in the last 20 years, is to gain a permanent place among the top 5 countries. President of Aegean Furniture, Paper and Forest Products Exporters’ Association, Ali Fuat Gürle, with whom we discussed the development of the sector and the features that distinguish Turkish furniture from its competitors, made important evaluations: “The experience and capabilities of our sector are obvious, our future is clear, our goal of being among the top 5 countries in the world export rankings is not far away.”

The Turkish furniture industry, which attracts attention by combining the rich cultural values inherited from the past with the modern design approach and producing original and aesthetic products, continues its rapid growth. Evaluating the growth of the Turkish furniture industry and the products it offers to the market, Ali Fuat Gürle, President of Aegean Furniture, Paper and Forest Products Exporters’ Association: “Türkiye has managed to combine the experience it has accumulated over decades in hand craftsmanship with high-level machinery. We care about our country’s self-sufficiency in the entire value chain, starting from wood raw materials and continuing with our processing machines, equipment and most importantly our designs. It is necessary to work at every stage to increase the contribution of our sector, which has a foreign trade surplus, to our country.”

  • First of all, we would like to learn the general situation of the furniture and forest products sectors, which are a field of the union you chair. How was 2023 for these two fields? How much exports were made last year?

Our Furniture, Paper and Forest Products Exporters’ Association, as the name suggests, consists of three sub-sectors: furniture, paper and non-wood forest products. The countrywide export performance of the three sectors we represent was around 8 billion dollars at the end of 2023. Our non-wood forest products sector closed the year with 154 million dollars. Türkiye’s overall paper and paper products exports reached 2.5 billion dollars in 2023. Finally; Our exports of furniture products across Türkiye amounted to 4.6 billion dollars in 2023.

“Our goal is to increase our exports to 12 billion dollars in 2028”
  • We have left the first quarter of 2024 behind. Considering this 3-month period, how do you expect 2024 to be for the furniture industry? What are the year-end goals?

When we look at the first three months, we see a similar picture to last year, but our expectations are high for 2024 depending on the exchange rate policy. If we reach an exchange rate level that will restore our competitiveness, our exports will gain momentum. The furniture, paper and forest products sector aims to increase its exports from 8 billion dollars by the end of 2023 to 9 billion dollars by the end of 2024 and to 12 billion dollars by the end of 2028. As the Aegean Furniture Paper and Forest Products Exporters’ Association, we aim to contribute 1 billion dollars to Türkiye’s export target in 2024.

Top export countries for the furniture industry
  • Which markets have the highest demand for for the Turkish furniture industry?

The top export countries for Türkiye are: Iraq, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Germany, France, USA.

“Türkiye’s furniture industry is the 7th largest exporting country”
  • While gaining a place in global markets, it is necessary to analyze competitors well. Who are Türkiye’s most important competitors in the furniture industry?

It is necessary to divide the actors in the world into two. First group includes the countries such as Italy, Germany and the USA, which direct the sector, determine designs and trends, and produce and export with high added value. The other group includes countries such as China, Poland and Vietnam, which have high production power and manufacture for the trend-setting countries that I have just mentioned. As Türkiye, we have increased our furniture exports 21 times in the last 20 years, becoming the 7th largest exporting country in the world. Our next goal is to become a country that exports with its own brand that stands out with its designs and to be among the top 5 countries.

“We make a difference with our quality and affordable products”
  • The furniture industry is a very strong industry. What distinguishes Turkish furniture from its competitors?

The most basic feature that distinguishes the Turkish furniture industry from other competitors is that it can both produce quality products and offer this product at an affordable price. In this way, we make a difference in the global industry with our quality and appropriate products.

  • In which furniture group is Türkiye preferred more?

According to the export data, we mostly export wooden home furniture such as beds, dining rooms and living rooms, as well as armchairs and sofas, which we call the soft group. This is followed by beds and office furniture.

“Türkiye has succeeded in combining its experience in hand craftsmanship with high-level machinery”
  • In a news published recently, you stated that Türkiye rose from 34th to 8th place in the world furniture export rankings in the last 22 years. What factors facilitated this rise?

Our country has advantages in many fields. We have a young population and we have the opportunity to easily reach every point of the world geopolitically in terms of exports. In addition to these advantages, Türkiye has managed to combine the experience it has accumulated over decades in hand craftsmanship with high-level machinery. On the other hand, if we consider that we are among the important countries in the world in the production of raw materials such as wood, we can better understand why the furniture industry has risen to the eighth place. The experience and capabilities of our sector are obvious, our future is clear, our goal of being among the top 5 countries in the world export rankings is not far away.

“The quality of domestic production in woodworking machines has increased considerably”
  • What advantage does the production of furniture raw materials and domestic woodworking machinery obtained from Türkiye’s own forests provide for the furniture industry?

It is very important for our country to ensure self-sufficient production of furniture raw materials, namely wood, and we have full confidence in the work of our Ministries in this regard. Türkiye has the ability, experience and expertise to do everything, and likewise, the quality of domestic production in woodworking machinery has increased considerably in recent years. We care about our country’s self-sufficiency in the entire value chain, starting from wood raw materials and continuing with our processing machines, equipment and most importantly our designs. It is necessary to work at every stage to increase the contribution of our sector, which has a foreign trade surplus, to our country.