subscribe to news Furniture manufacturers concerned about shadow production

The Conference of Furniture Manufacturers, held within the framework of the RusMebel 2021 Forum at the Mebel 2021 international exhibition, focused on the problems of legalisation of the furniture industry caused by a high level of shadow production in the industry.

As noted at the conference, this includes unregistered businesses producing cheap furniture of dubious quality. In addition, some shady companies hide their real production volumes in order to avoid taxes; this allows them to dump their products.   The demand for such furniture, due to its cheapness, is also very high today. This is explained by the fact that for a large proportion of consumers, who are forced to save money due to their low income, there is no significant difference between the lower price segment of the legal market and the shadow offerings, except for the advantageous price of the latter. The consumer cannot immediately discern the quality of the materials from which the furniture is made, which are hidden by upholstery or look about the same, experts explain.

Timur Irtuganov, Director General of the Association of Enterprises of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia, who moderated the conference, and Alexander Shestakov, President of the Association, who participated in the event, stressed the importance and urgency of discussing the stated topic. 

The conference participants exchanged views on possible ways of solving problems related to shadow production, in particular, to drive unscrupulous manufacturers out of the furniture market. As Veronika Bobrovskaya, Deputy Director of the Department of Light Industry and Timber Industry of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, noted during the discussion, joint efforts of government agencies and furniture makers themselves are required to effectively combat the illegal circulation of products in the furniture industry. In particular, she proposed to formulate a sectoral charter of Russian furniture manufacturers on product quality, calling on all participants in the furniture market to join such a charter, to make it public, and to indicate their participation in the charter in the accompanying documents of the products produced. Other interesting constructive suggestions were also made.

The conference was held online and offline. View streaming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo2jY8yfsT0. 

Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO