The Indian wood panel industry is continuing to sail along the subdued sentiments because as anticipated December did not yield the desired returns to the stakeholders, they found it hard to recover the sales blighted by the post festive season to a great extent. After October, the month of November saw a dull patch which improved but only slightly in December.
In northern India, despite the opening of the market in December, the demand remained subdued, however the industry is upbeat that the sale will pick up towards the end January and henceforth. So far the industry is bracing itself for upcoming BIS-QCO in February that makes the ISI standard mark mandatory on the wood panel products.
We have seen representations from the entire plywood and furniture industry, be it Plywood manufacturers, traders, furniture suppliers, raw material suppliers and other associate bodies. Everybody has submitted their own view and concern vis-a-vis the implementation of QCO.
Reiterating its unflagging focus and vision to promote ‘Make in India’ products, the Ministry of Commerce and Trade has clearly asserted its intention to improve the quality standards of panel products produced in the India market to grow their popularity and demand in foreign markets.
As far as the furniture industry is concerned, the government intends to propel the Indian furniture sector in exports with a vision to realise the full potential of this rising sector. In order to turn the furniture sector into a export driven industry, it is the foremost thing for producers to procure first rate plyboards, MDF, laminates, hardware fitting etc.
It is advised to the Indian furniture industry to readjust and recalibrate their quality in compliance with QCO norms as the govt of India has also maintained its stringent dispensation towards the quality of the imported furniture, as reported by various trade experts.
As of now, it is clear as daylight that there will be no further extension in the date of QCO implementation. Many import driven industrialists have already obtained the license while many others have applied and are waiting for their certification. Although it remains to be seen how QCO will impact the import driven segment of the industry as the share of imported plywood in the domestic wood panel industry stands at 10-15 % but this share is likely to see some downfall with the spur up in the demand for indigenously produced plywood to post QCO, yet there are still many panel products of which the standards are yet to be defined.
Predictably, the year 2025 will yield better returns for industry as compared to 2024, although stakeholders may face some headwinds owing to downwards trend in global economics and slow GDP growth. But hopefully the upwards trend in the construction of office space, Real Estate and Infrastructural Development in 2024 which has highly contributed towards the economy of India will create the demand for interior products. The year 2024 saw many upheavals in market due to multiple elections that resulted into intermittent pause in the capacity addition that was taking place in plywood, laminate, PB and MDF segment but the govt investments in many residential schemes in previous year and impact of QCO, both factors will trigger the demand for interior panel products in 2025.
A very Happy New Year 2025!
See you all at MATECIA, Southern India, Bengaluru!
Pragat Dvivedi, Founder Editor