REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Deputy Trade Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said classy products from Indonesia are higher in demand among high class people in China such as furniture. Cheap furniture even if the quality was competitive would not sell in that country, he added.

Rich people in China make up only for 1-2 percent of the population, but it could mean 15 million-20 million people, Krisnamurthi said. He said Indonesia's furniture exports to China has increased fast in the past 5 years, growing by 20.5 percent per year on the average since 2009.

Based on data at the trade ministry, the country's total exports of furniture were valued at 1.74 billion USD in 2013, down slightly from 1.76 billion USD the previous year.

Exports of furniture to China alone were valued only at 24.3 million USD or 1.4 percent of the total exports.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Association of Furniture and handcraft makers (AMKRI) said the country's exports of furniture could rise to 5 billion USD annually in the next five years.

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