Inaugural Vientiane Furniture Fair announced
Inaugural Vientiane Furniture Fair announced
The Lao Furniture Association (LFA) will host the first annual Vientiane Furniture Fair from March 23 to April 1 at the Vientiane Centre in Vientiane.
The products to be brought for display and sale at the event will include a range of wooden furniture, bamboo, rattan and handicrafts.
The aim is to increase the capacity of Lao wood product manufacturers to compete in both local and international markets, particularly in the Asean Economic Community.
Vice President of the LFA Mr Kongmala Phommalay spoke at a press conference in Vientiane yesterday to announce the first annual Vientiane Furniture Fair.
Mr Kongmala said the fair seeks to increase efficiency, quality and value adding to Lao wood and furniture products as well as sustain forest protection efforts by using modern technology and innovation and promote the use of wood from plantations instead of utilising timber from natural forests.
It will also serve to promote Lao wooden furniture to Lao society and also international visitors, increase the skills of Lao labour and furniture factories and create jobs for local people, reduce unemployment and help the country graduate from poverty.
Mr Kongmala said event partici pants will be able to witness carving demonstrations and enjoy performances in the evenings.
The association expects that furniture, wood processing and saplings business units within the association and foreign and domestic comp anies will join the event.
In previous years, the association has organised various other exhibitions and participated at different domestic and international events including some in China, Singapore and Malaysia, said Mr Kongmala.
Vientiane Centre's Shopping Mall Department Managing Director, Mr Sombat Siriphonwitaya, believes the event will attract more domestic and foreign investors to visit and help to promote the goods on offer at the newly opened shopping mall.
LFA President Mr Khamphay Somsana said that to integrate with the region and internationally, the association has advised every Lao business unit, especially furniture and wood entrepreneurs, to pay more attention to updating the quality of their products and increasing their management skills.
Each business unit should also show their abilities and actively go about producing their own products for sale and export and seek to increase their popularity, he stressed.
Lao wooden furniture products are already attracting many foreign buyers, especially in China, because of the high quality of the wood, Mr Khamphay said.
He called on furniture makers and all association members to grow their businesses by using new ideas and building on their experience, doing their bit to contribute to socio-economic development and business expansion.
The opening ceremony will be attended by high ranking government officials, private business operators, ambassadors and representatives of various international organisations.
