The national furniture industry continues to make significant contributions to export value and supports the tourism sector with IDR 16 trillion amid a global economic downturn. Environmentally-friendly furniture exports are projected to rise dramatically to USD 51.02 billion by 2024, representing 8.6% of the global market. Sona Maesana, Co-Founder of Chas (Indonesia Hand-carved Wooden Furniture), highlighted the company's efforts to promote Indonesian furniture as a leading export industry. Chas, established in 1990 by Noor Chasanah from Jepara, focuses on classic wooden furniture with intricate carvings, blending functionality with aesthetic enjoyment and offering a therapeutic visual experience. This event, held in Jakarta on Saturday (7/9/2024), featured the latest Chas products and was attended by Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno, and other public figures.
Despite these efforts, Indonesia's national furniture and crafts exports fell by 28% from January to September 2023, dropping from USD 2.5 billion to USD 1.8 billion compared to the previous year. The decline in the furniture sector was 30.63% and 20.59% in the crafts sector. The largest contribution in the furniture sector comes from wooden furniture, which constitutes 57.31%, underscoring Chas's strength in enhancing wood material into high economic value. Sona emphasized that Chas, as a product of local craftsmanship, aims to penetrate the global market with its unique and high-quality offerings.
