The month of April was slow with respect to demand in the wood panel industry. The sales volumes on retail sides have shown a dip across the country. For which the reason identified is, lack of workers and carpenters on sites. The Eid festival was also a significant region for the dullness and many work sites were shut due to absence of “karigar, carpenters and contractors.
The northern region has shown a sharper dip in demand. The marriage season is also being blamed as a dampener for sales although 2nd week of May onwards, demand is expected to improve. From the perspective of Retail counters side, the sale volume in Laminates, Plywood, Prelam Particle board and Edge band is said to be dull if compared to February and March 2022 figures, The weakness in markets is also being attributed to power cuts, acute sharp jump in material cost as well as some negative sentiments.
The same is visible on furniture makers' side: find Ply Reporter and FDT magazine survey. There has been sluggishness on those OEMs who have shifted their focus from office furniture to the Residential segment in the recent past. Although the old and established furniture makers are still flush with huge orders and order pendency.
The Ply Reporter estimates indicate that the mid-priced ‘machine made’ furniture making sector was also a bit slow whereas premium furniture making class had no impact. The retailers agreed that there is a down fall of around 20% for leading counters but the same was in tune to 35 to 40 % for average retailers. Distributors blame it on summer holidays, Eid and poor demand due to inflation but most of them expect the revival by May end. The month of June is expected to witness a pickup in material demand when workers will return and sites will begin to operate smoothly.