Managing Director Dato’ Dr Tan Chin Huat said the five-day exhibition from March 6 at the Putra World Trade Centre and Matrade Exhibition and Convention Centre is expected to woo some 6,000 foreign buyers from 140 countries. With 75,000 square metres exhibition space, the fair will attract about 500 furniture manufacturers and exporters from Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Australia and the United States. The fair will showcase a wide range of furniture, furniture accessories, fittings and hardwares.

MIFF 2012 has been endorsed by various ministries and government agencies like the International Trade and Industry Ministry, Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry and Malaysian Timber Industry Board.

"Despite the economic crisis in Europe, which has not recovered there's growing demand and opportunities from the Middle East and new markets in South America," he said. In the current softer global economic climate, Dr Tan said there was a need to focus on research and development to produce products with competitive edge. While the United States has been traditionally a major market for Malaysian furniture, there was now less dependency on the US market, he said. "India is also another growing market for furniture," points Dato’ Tan Chin Huat.

The organizer of MIFF said Malaysian manufacturers have the capacity to be world leading suppliers of quality furniture products. In this respect, Dr Tan said the MIFF, a leading trade fair in the Asia-Pacific region over the past 18 years, was an ideal platform for manufacturers to gain recognition in the international market.