Gulf Construction Online - Modef Expo to host 1,500 global buyers

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Participants at a previous edition of Modef Expo.

Modef Expo to host 1,500 global buyers

01 November 2014

The 32nd edition of Modef Expo, an international trade fair of furniture and decoration, will be held on an extended floor space this month (November 4 to 8) in Turkey.

The show, which will be held at the Hikmet Sahin Cultural Park International Exhibition Centre in Inegol, Busra, Turkey, will be bigger than last year’s event and is expected to host 1,500 international buyers.

“Since the floor space is limited, every year we extend it by adding tents,” said Rabia Alga, business development director of Antexpo – the international marketing partner of Modef Expo.

“Last year, the total floor space was 15,500 sq m and this year it will be 19,320 sq m,” she added.

Alga was in Dubai recently to promote the event in the UAE along with Aysun Sanatci, fair organisation and foreign trade manager at Modef Fuarcilik, the fair organiser.

“Modef Expo is one of the most important furniture shows in Turkey because it is held in Inegol, the town of Busra which is the heart of the furniture industry,” Alga said.

Sanatchi (left) and Alga in Dubai.

Although the fair is not very big when compared to other shows, Inegol is a big exhibition in itself, she said, adding that it has more than 1,000 furniture showrooms and 1,500 furniture manufacturing facilities, including large factories. The visitors and buyers to the event can also visit the showrooms.

“Inegol procures its raw materials from its own resources and most of them are of high-class quality. The region, therefore, produces the goods at low cost, this helps in keeping the export sale price low,” Alga said.

“Modef Expo is primarily for those companies who are looking to purchase a wide range and the best quality of products at low price.”

At present, around 25 per cent of the $6 billion worth of furniture production in Turkey is marketed across the globe. Inegol constitutes 35 per cent of this figure.

“Current export statistics show that there are around 300 Inegol furniture companies exporting their products to over 110 countries across the globe,” said Sanatci.

Visitors to the show can find a wide range of modern, classic, antique and modular furniture for homes, offices and commercial establishments.

“Every year, we break the international hosted buyer programme record and this year we expect to welcome more than 1,500 international buyers,” Sanatchi said.

Last year, 145 exhibitors showcased the latest trends and designs in furniture to more than 10,000 visitors from 62 countries.

This year, the show is expected to receive bigger groups from the UAE and for the first time groups from Kazakhstan and Greece.

“The Middle East and the GCC are very important for Turkey’s furniture industry. Iraq, Libya and Azerbaijan are the top three export markets for Turkey. Saudi Arabia is currently at the sixth position and the UAE in the 11th,” said Alga.

“We would like to see the UAE as one of the top export markets. Turkey’s furniture and wood product’s export to the UAE has been growing. In 2012, it was $16.5 million while last year it reached $29 million,” she added.