THE local furniture industry is short of some 20,000 workers and this is preventing the sector from taking advantage of the ongoing US-China trade war, said industry players.

Apart from the shortage of foreign workers, unresolved labour issues are stopping the industry from capitalising on the opportunities arising from the trade war.

Malaysian Furniture Council president Khoo Yew Chong told The Malaysian Insight there has been no progress in its request for foreign workers.

The council submitted an application to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in early August to seek for more workers, he said.

“There is no answer. It seems that many people are in charge. We are still chasing them. They are going to review our application,” he said.

The president of Muar Furniture Association Candice Lim said orders from the United States have started pouring in due to the trade war.

“I hope the government will allow us to hire foreign workers. Let’s not waste this good opportunity,” she said.

China, too, is providing business opportunities to local players, she said, hence the government has to look into the issue of foreign workers seriously.

There are Chinese companies, according to Lim, which have sought business partnership with local companies.

“Americans don’t want to buy furniture from China. They might turn to Malaysia for supply, and Malaysia’s exports to the US will increase.”

Vietnamese furniture companies already have their order books full, she said. This has led to many US companies turning to Malaysia for supply.

She added that Chinese companies are also looking towards Malaysia which enjoys a common language with China.

The industry hopes that the government can resolve the problem related to the hiring of foreign workers soon, she said, adding that the association has been in constant engagement with the government.

The association has been engaging MITI for the past two months, to vet through the problem and to understand the impacts from the perspective of the government and industry players.

She urged the government to expedite the processing of the applications, failing which the industry would miss out on capitalising on lucrative business opportunities.

Some companies have to expand production to meet demand, whereas others had to turn down new orders out of fear they wouldn’t be able to fulfil the demand.

The Malaysian Insight is trying to get comments from MITI and the Home Ministry on the labour situation.

Matrade’s figures showed that Malaysian furniture exports grew by 9.16% in the first five months of the year to reach RM4.14 billion, signifying the industry’s growing importance in the country’s overall trade performance.

The main exports of Malaysian furniture include wooden bedroom furniture, seats and parts, wooden bedroom furniture, wooden kitchen furniture and metal furniture.

The country’s traditional markets, such as the US, Japan, Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom remain the key export destinations.

Meanwhile, it also saw substantial growth in orders from countries such as Canada (increased by 25.7%), the Philippines (13.9%) and the United Arab Emirates (6.8%).

Orders from the US registered double digit growth in the quarter under review as a result of trade diversion to Southeast Asia.

The total furniture exports to the US increased by 20.8% between January and May to RM1.55 billion, compared with the corresponding period of the preceding year.

Meanwhile, the National Timber Industry Policy (NATIP) is targeting for the annual export of furniture to reach RM12 billion by 2020. – September 2, 2019.