NEW YORK Aug 10 (INP): The United States investors of furniture industry and buyers have shown keen interest in Pak handmade world class fabulous traditional furniture and underlined the need of further enhancing collaboration with the Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC) to promote furniture business between the two countries. “There is significant potential scope for the promotion of Pak-US furniture trade and further strengthening of investment relationship to continue grow and durable working on the positive lines,” these views were expressed by Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC) Chief Executive Mian Kashif Ashfaq here on Thursday while talking to the US furniture producers at a ceremony held in honor of PFC delegation currently on visit for enhancing the bilateral trade with their counterparts. Expecting a high demand of Pak handmade classy local furniture in New York markets, he maintained that there is are plenty of opportunities to increase furniture export volume to the US due to its an upward trend, as the demand for furniture and wooden products are on the rise in the US and European markets along with the domestic consumers. “Only US furniture demand at the manufacturers' level is forecast to reach $59.0 billion in 2021,” adding he said opportunity is huge, but the sector needs a large number of skilled workers to meet the rising demand. “We are making special efforts to increase furniture export catering to the rising global demand. Further he said that another one driver in the US market is improving residential construction market. The real estate industry in the US is expected to drive the home furniture market in the next few years. This will be due to the increasing number of people engaging in household formation. There has been a significant rise in the number of women joining the workforce and living independently. As a result, there is a rising need for service apartments and single storey houses. “American buyers prefer to buy value-priced and high quality finished goods for dining and bedroom, leather and fabric upholstery, occasional and youth furniture.” He further said due to social media, great design has become more accessible through pop culture and customers come in knowing what they want because they've seen it on TV, in magazines or even in their travels. He said many of American customers are getting rid of their traditional furniture in favor of something more modern. "I realized you had to be slightly out of your mind to be warehousing large products in New York, when opportunities for land and building and labor were so much more advantageous here," Mian Kashif Ashfaq said. The furniture industry caters to various categories and trends that change ever so quickly, and it is vital for us to offer items that reflect to these fast trends,” “PFC will work closely with trend experts to create new items to ensure we cover these lifestyles, and our goal for new intros is to offer the perfect item reflecting consumers’ demands. “We are seen as suppliers of quality home and office furniture. Indeed, US buyers often visit the PFC Interiors Pakistan to directly source their requirements of high-quality functional furniture suited to US consumers’ tastes. “They get a preview of the latest designs at the show which was held at Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore expo centers. Mian Kashif Ashfaq invited the US furniture investors and buyer to visit 3-day international exhibition of PFC 9th “ Interiors Pakistan” being held from December 15 at Lahore Pakistan and PFC will facilitate them . INP/AJ