1. Turkey: Flying To Be Leader Of Furniture Industry
Turkish Furniture Industry soars into prominence and aims a place among top 10 exxporters.
Turkey’s rapid issue as one of the fastest development marketplaces in the last a couple of years
could hardly have come as a surprise. Posing on the edge of Asia and Europe, it operates as a
general store between the east and west. It’s a country with a plentiful history and a reputation for
its classic oriental designs - stylish with Turkey's eastern neighbors.
Much of the wealth accumulated in the world in the last a couple of years has centralized in
neighbouring Middle Eastern and Central Asian markets. Available revenue in these two areas
has been raising at a much bigger pace than in the European markets. Turkey’s strategical
location entails it's well located to expand its reach into the world’s extending markets.
Rising National Demand
National demand in Turkey has increased sharply over the last decade due to three main
elements: Rapid urbanisation, a significant growth in disposable revenue, and lifestyle changes.

2. Turkish furniture manufacturers have also increased their output capacity during this period in
line with the raising requirement for Turkish furniture. Now, the urbanisation of Turkey’s
population stands at around 70 percent, with the rate of urbanization predict at 1.7 percent
annually until 2015.
Despite the worldwide fiscal crisis, the industry kept to stand strong and posted year-on-year
growth in production even in 2009. Demand for furniture is awaited to raise at a compound
annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 16 percent from 2011 to 2013.
Speaking at the Furniture Summit in Istanbul on January 30, 2012, Chairman of the Association
of Turkish Furniture Manufacturers (MOSDER), Ramazan Davulcuoglu, added certain
consumption patterns in Turkey. He shared that the average furniture renewal period for
consumers is currently eight years - he added that this figure has been going over the years. He
also said that according to consumers, the most important element in choosing furniture is the
quality of the product. Around 69 percent of respondents showed this was the most significant
element, over reliability of brand and price of product.
Turkey’s substantial growth in recent years has been reflected in both its production and
consumption. From 2008, production of furniture in Turkey had raised 25 percent, accomplishing
an output value of US$6 billion in 2011. Consumption had raised by around 28.6 percent, to
US$9 billion in 2011.
Year Production (in US$ Consumption (in US$
billion) billion)
2008 4.8 7
2009 5.25 7.5
2010 5.6 8
2011 6 9
Turkish Production And Consumption
Source: MOSDER
Turkish Landscape
Turkey stands as the 16th biggest manufacturer and 21st largest exporter of furniture in the
world, with a global market share of 1.5 percent, according to the Centre for Industrial Studies
(CSIL).

3. In Turkey, furniture is acquired both in workshops and industrial-scale manufacturing facilities.
Small workshops act as a important role in producing hand-crafted furniture. Such workshops are
flexible establishments in nature and generally have the capacity to enlarge their production line
to fulfil large orders. Larger furniture companies mass-produce standard patterns by using
automated techniques; the majority of their production is exported.
Furniture production in Turkey is centralized mainly in Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, Kayseri, Izmir
and Adana. The famous furniture manufacturing zone in Turkey is known as Siteler, placed
within Ankara. The number of recorded small and medium enterprises in Siteler alone is over
10,000.
Mr Davulcuoglu announced at the Furniture Summit 2012 that in Turkey, many big companies’
production now adopts European Union regulatings while smaller companies are already working
on following EU regulations.
Official figures from MOSDER expose that the Turkish furniture industry is composed of 29,346
manufacturers and 32,382 retailers, giving a total figure of 61,728 active companies. It's an
industry which supplies employment to some 500,000 workers, including employees in the
diverse subsidiary industries.
Bursa and Ankara are the two most active cities in the Turkish industry. Around 40.3 percent of
Turkish manufacturers are based in either of the two cities, which also collectively account for
41.5 percent of workers in the industry.
City Number of companies Number of workers
Istanbul 6,458 35,633
Ankara 5,361 30,062
Izmir 2,379 14,142
Bursa 2,130 16,096
Kayseri 740 20,280
Other 12,278 42,000
Total in Production 29,346 158,213
Total in Retail 32,382 100,000
Total Active 61,728 258,213

4. Structure Of Turkish Furniture Industry
Source: TUIK - MOSDER
Exponential Export Increase
Turkey presently exports to a total of 173 countries across 5 continents. From 2003 to 2011,
Turkey received growth in exports of over 292 percent, with a CAGR of 18.6 percent for this
period. Growth during this period was substantial and stable except in 2009, when the global
financial crisis caused exports to contract by 13 percent.
Year Export Value (US$ Million) Percentage Change
2003 434.6 -
2004 587 +35
2005 684.6 +17
2006 764.7 +12
2007 1,026.9 +34
2008 1,332.9 +30
2009 1,153.3 -13
2010 1,414.6 +23
2011 1,703.9 +20
Exports from 2003-2011
Source: TUIK
Iraq continued unchanged from 2010 as Turkey’s top destination for exports. In 2011,
exportations to Iraq amounted to US$250.7 million, up 38 percent from 2010’s export value of
US$181.4 million. In total, Iraq reported for 17 percent of all furniture exports from Turkey in
2011.
Exports to neighbor Turkmenistan saw the largest growth, with exports in 2011 showing a 63
percent increase from 2010, to reach US$68.5 million. The United Kingdom was the only top 11
export address to experience a fall in Turkish imports, recording a drop of 0.4 percent.
Country 2010 2011 Percentage Percentage of
Change Total Exports
Iraq 181.4 250.7 +38 17
Germany 115.1 147.5 +28 10
Azerbaijan 73.1 97.4 +33 7

5. Iran 73.5 93.7 +27 6
France 63.2 79.3 +25 5
Turkmenistan 42.1 68.5 +63 5
Holland 40.6 49.6 +22 3
Russia 31.2 43.9 +41 3
Saudi Arabia 25.7 37.9 +48 3
United kingdom 35.4 35.3 -0.4 2
Italy 27 30 +11 2
Furniture Exports By Country ( In US$ Million)
Source:TUIK
Information from the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the United Nation Statistics Division
(UNSD) points that in 2011, the biggest furniture export segment was panel furniture - which
made up 29 percent of total exports. Sofas and Sitting Sets were the 2nd biggest export segment -
making up 26 percent of exports.
Imports Still Lower Than Exports
The Turkish furniture industry had a commercial surplus in 2011, with export volume nearly
double of import volume - net trade last year totaled to a surplus of around US$758.7 million.
Since 2009, Turkish exports have raised by around 20 percent annually, and this trend is waited
to continue this year. The strong export growth is waited to see Turkey positioned among the 10
biggest furniture exporters in the world in the near future.
The value of Turkey’s furniture imports has been rising at a falling rate since 2003. In 2011,
Turkish imports totaled to US$945.2 million - approximately 55 percent of total exports. This
value represented a 28 percent increase from 2010. However this figure is still lower than the
increase in imports received in 2010 from the year before, which was 38 percent.
Year Import Value (US$ Million Percentage Change
2003 177.3 -
2004 285.3 +61
2005 370.9 +30
2006 511.8 +38
2007 680.1 +33
2008 738.2 +8

6. 2009 535.4 -27
2010 738.4 +38
2011 945.2 +28
Imports from 2003-2011
Source: TUIK
China strengthened its position as Turkey’s top supplier of furniture imports. In 2011, China’s
exports to Turkey accomplished US$277.6 million, which reported for 35 percent of all of
Turkey’s furniture imports that year. Of the top 11 sources of Turkey’s furniture imports,
Romania and the United Kingdom recorded the biggest percentage growths. Romanian exports to
Turkey raised by 100 percent to reach US$24.6 million, while United Kingdom exports to Turkey
raised by 230 percent to accomplish US$19.7 million.
Country 2010 2011 Percentage Percentage of
Change Total Imports
China 222.3 277.6 +25 35
Italy 62 83.9 +38 10
Germany 68.3 81.1 +19 10
Poland 34.1 46.4 +36 6
France 32.6 39.2 +20 5
Spain 26.6 36.4 +37 5
Romania 12.3 24.6 +100 3
Indonesia 17.7 20.2 +14 3
Vietnam 17.8 20.1 +13 3
United kingdom 6 19.7 +230 2
Japan 16.2 15.1 -7 2
Furniture Imports By Country ( In US$ Million)
Source: TUIK
Turkish Furniture Enlarges To Western Markets
In recent years, Turkish furniture brands have started taking market share in Italy, Germany and
China, the dominating powers in the global furniture industry.

7. This was according to the Executive Board Chairman of Burosan, Murat Dilme. He added that
Burosan, a national furniture company in the southern state of Adana, has established exports to
Italy.
“Our goal is to serve Turkish brands find more confidence in markets in all corners of the world,”
said Mr Dilme. “We have become a trademark when it comes to office furniture. We are proud to
export our products from Adana to the rest of the world and 10 percent of our income comes
from exports.”
Burosan provides a broad range of products to both the European and Middle Eastern markets.
“After offering furniture items to the Italian Aviano Air Base, we have made military bases for
NATO member countries, the United Nations and the United States throughout the world our
potential markets. We will supply all the furniture requires of the United States bases in Bulgaria
and Romania by 2012,” added Mr Dilme.
The Future Is Brilliant
Turkey’s relatively young population is an significant determinant of the industry’s substantial
performance in the long run. 2011 forecasts point that 26.6 percent of Turkey’s total population is
under the age of 14. In addition, only 6.3 percent of the total population are aged 65 or above.
The median age of the Turkey’s population is 28.5 years.
Turkey’s total population is estimated to have reached around 79.7 million by July 2012. Its big
population combined with Turkey’s relatively young population bodes well for the country’s
furniture industry - an industry known to be traditionally labor-intensive. If Turkey is able to
keep to nurture its industry and its workforce, it will only be a matter of time before it
accomplishes its aim of becoming one of the world’s top 10 exporters of furniture.
http://www.furnitureinturkey.com/turkey-flying-leader-furniture-industry/