Turkey's furniture sector stands out as one of the country's economic success stories with its strong production capacity and foreign trade performance. Generating an annual export revenue of approximately 4.5 billion dollars and a foreign trade surplus of 3.5 billion dollars, the sector continues to shape the future with its focus on sustainability and innovation. In particular, the growing awareness that wood plays an important role in economic and environmental sustainability is bringing the sector to the forefront.
Turkey's furniture industry is increasingly emphasizing the importance of using wood to build a sustainable future. In addition to being a renewable resource, wood is becoming a part of ecological solutions thanks to its low carbon footprint and aesthetic possibilities. Organized in this context, the "Sustainable Tomorrows with Wood" panel provided an important platform to discuss the sector's initiatives in this field and to develop a vision for the future.
The panel was organized in cooperation with the Aegean Furniture, Paper and Forestry Products Exporters' Association and Izmir Katip Çelebi University Faculty of Forestry. The event addressed the contribution of wood use to the circular economy and its impact on global competitiveness. The prediction was expressed that as the use of wood increases, sectoral developments will create positive value both economically and environmentally.
The event was coordinated by Press Counselor Murat Demircan, while speakers included A. Müjdat Kemer, Chairman of EMKOÜİB Furniture Committee, Semiha Güneş, Chairman of BASİFED, Burcu Yazgan Parlak, President of Chamber of Interior Architects Izmir Branch and Ali Fuat Gürle, President of EMKOÜİB. Through these important participants, current trends in the sector and the contribution of wood to sectoral sustainability were discussed in detail.
Another noteworthy point in the panel was that Turkey ranked second in the world in particleboard production. This shows that Turkey is gaining an increasingly active position in the global furniture industry. Turkey's furniture industry is making a name for itself with its quality and sustainable production, increasing its competitiveness both in the domestic and foreign markets.
Innovative production techniques as well as strategic initiatives to increase brand awareness in foreign markets play a major role in this success. By effectively utilizing its geographical advantages and labor potential, Turkey aims to influence a wider area in the furniture industry. These issues will be decisive in consolidating Turkey's sectoral strength and having a greater say in the global market.
the "Sustainable Tomorrows with Wood" panel underlined the need for sustainability-oriented efforts to gain momentum and emphasized the importance of the cooperation of sector stakeholders in this process. It is stated that such events in the wood and furniture sector will enable innovation and sustainability-oriented approaches that will serve both economic and environmental phenomena to be brought to the agenda more in the future.
