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Indonesia`s premium quality furniture products exhibited at INDEX Exhibition at the Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), have attracted the markets and have been sold out at the fair. The Head of Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) in Dubai, Heny Rusmiati, stated that ITPC facilitated Jatra Design Furniture to participate in the exhibition, which was attended by one thousand participants from 50 countries.

"All Jatra Design Studio products that were brought to INDEX Exhibition have been sold out, including large conference tables, sofas, and guest chairs, with some buyers even recording repeat orders," Rusmiati noted in a statement received by ANTARA here on Tuesday.

Jatra Design Studio has also got some offers from furniture businesses in Oman, Saudi Arabia, and UAE to become a distributor in the Middle East region.

"One of the companies interested in becoming an agent is Almas Design, which is the largest furniture company in the UAE and has several outlets across the UAE," he remarked.

At the exhibition, Jatra Design Studio also made follow-up contacts with its UAE counterpart, Neocasa Interiors. The business relation of both companies was established in 2017. Neocasa Interiors is a leading UAE company that supplies furniture for the royal family in the country. The company wants to conduct further exploration to become an investor in Jatra Design Studio factory in Indonesia, especially in producing chipboard that is used for premium quality furniture products. Until now, both parties are still studying the contract document on investment cooperation.

"Jatra Design Studio has requested ITPC Dubai to facilitate the process, and we are ready to help," Rusmiati revealed.

INDEX Exhibition is the largest exhibition for furniture, handicrafts, and interior design products in UAE. About 100 potential visitors visited the Indonesian booth during the exhibition. The visitors were from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Lebanon, Kuwait, Iran, Australia, Macedonia, and some African countries. INDEX Exhibition is one of the entrances to become a supplier in infrastructure development in UAE.

"Currently, the UAE is conducting massive infrastructure developments, especially hotels and apartments, in order to welcome the World Expo 2020 Dubai. Therefore, this is an opportunity for Indonesian business players to market their products and expand business," he explained.

The total value of non-oil and gas trade of Indonesia and UAE in 2017 amounted to US$2.1 billion. The value of Indonesian exports amounted to $1.5 billion and imports amounted to $509.6 million. Thus, Indonesia has experienced a non-oil/ gas trade surplus of $1 billion. Of Indonesia`s total non-oil and gas exports to the UAE in 2017, furniture products contributed only 0.57 percent. Indonesia`s export of furniture to the UAE was recorded at only $10 million in 2016, or 1.2 percent of the total UAE furniture product imports from around the world at $820.30 million. ( antara )