Last year, driven by the continuous rise in wages and prices of various types of timber, the price of solid wood furniture, which takes timber as its main raw material, also kept climbing. Although its price increase rate was far lower than the more than 80% growth of high-end rosewood such as Dalbergia odorifera, sandalwood and Dalbergia cochinchinensis, most of its gains were still over 20%. However, with the continuous deepening of real estate regulation and the intensifying weakness of practical and investment demand, the price trend of solid wood furniture this year is quite delicate.
Price increased by 20 to 30 percent last year
Compared with the skyrocketing price of high-end rosewood furniture, the price increase of solid wood furniture last year was relatively moderate. Zhao Ge, general manager of the store system of Markor Furnishings, told reporters that the price increase of Markor Furnishings' solid wood furniture last year was only similar to the increase of CPI.
However, when the reporter visited major furniture stores, it was found that although the quoted price increase of solid wood furniture of major brands was not large, due to the reduction of discount ranges, the actual price increase of solid wood furniture last year was about 20%, and the increase of some brands could reach 30%.
Prices will move steadily this year
What is the price trend of solid wood furniture this year? Sun Xiaozhou, chairman of Beijing Fumei Aolai Home Furnishing, said that solid wood furniture enterprises are "resource-consuming", and China restricts the logging of forestry resources, so the proportion of imported furniture timber in China has been increasing substantially every year. For example, ash, which is commonly used in domestic furniture, is mainly introduced from Russia. The law of "rare things are precious" determines that the price of solid wood will definitely rise in the long run.
According to the survey, the consumption of precious wood in China's solid wood furniture market far exceeds the total output of mature timber in China. To protect forest resources, China's forestry departments have become increasingly strict in the review of logging. Meanwhile, China's log import channels have also been blocked as major timber producing countries have strengthened restrictions. At present, log supply in China is very tight, and the price of raw materials has soared accordingly. Some solid wood furniture enterprises have even reached the situation where "even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice", so it is quite common to use inferior timber as the furniture frame and then paste high-quality solid wood veneer on it.
Raw material prices may continue to face upward pressure, but weak demand also makes solid wood furniture manufacturers dare to raise prices rashly. Regarding the price trend of solid wood furniture in 2012, Zhao Ge said that the price should not decline.