Sagarmala project to help develop furniture clusters near major ports

In a major developmental initiative to pave the way for port-led industrialisation, the Shipping Ministry’s ambitious Sagarmala project will focus on developing furniture clusters near major ports.

Port-led industrialisation throughout the world in the past 20 years has helped the furniture manufacturing sector grow and this can be pursued in India to enable the country garner a significant share in the global furniture market.

The development of port-based furniture clusters will help reduce the overall cost of exports from India and counter the Chinese dominance in the world furniture market, a draft report on the national perspective plan of Sagarmala project said.

Sagarmala is a national programme aimed at accelerating economic development by harnessing the potential of India’s coastline and river network.

It is pointed out that ports and logistics infrastructure played a major role in making China, the biggest exporter of furniture by overtaking the European markets. The dragon nation has made it possible by coastally strengthening the port-based imports and re-exports production, which is one of the economically viable options for furniture manufacturing. Malaysia is also a major furniture exporter with clusters located in close proximity to major ports.

However, India has its own problems in gaining an edge in this sector. The reduction of logistics cost, among others, will lower the overall value chain cost of finished products and reduce raw materials import cost. Therefore, setting up of port-based clusters will help reduce the overall export cost. India, according to the report, has a maximum share in furniture exports to the US and UK, besides being a self sufficient domestic market, due to the rising consumer interest in home décor products of premium brands.

With wood imports roughly at five million cubic metres, India is heavily dependent on other countries for sourcing wood primarily through Mundra and Kandla ports.

Besides, Mundra has also emerged as the leading port in furniture exports in terms of volume by catering to the hinterland in Kutch, Jodhpur and Jaipur. Pipavav is the second biggest port catering the South Gujarat and Rajasthan cluster.

The report also identified Punjab, Kerala and Assam as top States producing surplus furniture. Given the proper connectivity to other ports, the report said that existing bamboo processing industry can also be upgraded to an export-centric cluster. The proposed ICD in North Bengal along with the existing NW-2 could play an important role in making exports competitive from this cluster.

The report also suggested development of integrated wooden furniture export cluster in Kerala, a marble-based furniture hub in Kutch and a bamboo-based furniture hub in Assam.