With over 25,000 homes being added to the UAE’s residential market this year, the wood and furniture market is likely to witness solid growth, said a report released ahead of the Dubai WoodShow.

To be held from March 12 to 14, 2018, Dubai WoodShow is the largest such exhibition in the Middle East, showcasing a wide range of wood-based products at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Wood and wood-based furniture and household accessories products are expected to get a solid boost from the $2.4-trillion worth of construction activities, especially when new home-owners start purchasing their furniture and home décor products, stated the report by industry experts.

As per a recent research, around 70 per cent of the timber and wood products are used in construction industry while the rest are used in real estate, interiors, furniture and other industrial applications.

The statistics reflect a growing demand for wood products in the region, primarily driven by the overall economic growth as well as the growth in the region’s Dh8.8 trillion ($2.39 trillion) worth of construction activities.

With an average spent of Dh10,000 on wooden products per home, this translates to Dh250 million spent this year in Dubai alone.

However, with more than 35,000 residential units slated for delivery in 2018, spend on wooden products is expected to jump 40 per cent to Dh350 million, said the report.

"The growth in the housing market will drive the wood, wood-related and timber business across the region and this creates a great opportunity for the industry," remarked Dawood Al Shezawi, the CEO of Strategic Marketing and Exhibitions, the event organiser.

"As families move to their new freehold homes, they will require a fresh supply of furniture and due to the tastes and trends, most families look for authentic wooden furniture and products – wherein lies the new demand," he added.

Al Shezawi said in order to capture the lucrative UAE market, more than 300 exhibitors from 100 countries are all set to showcase their innovative solutions at the next edition of Dubai WoodShow, which will showcase new designs, style and product innovation on managing home space in innovative ways.

“However, consumers are also looking for new, innovative products to replace the old furniture, especially innovative furniture that help families to manage spaces in a better way. Those products will be in solid demand,” he added.

According to him, the demand for wood products is expected to be driven also by the new hotel projects.
"Dubai will add 40,000 hotel rooms and service apartments to meet the growing demand of tourists as part of the build-up to the Expo 2020, which is less than three years away," stated Al Shezawi.

"As the hotel developers are racing against time to deliver more than 40,000 hotel rooms that will help the emirate to serve 20 million hotel guests annually as well as the 25 million visitors to Expo 2020 in six months’ time," he noted.

Dubai’s hotel sector has more than 100,000 hotel rooms and serviced apartments. By October 2020, Dubai will need to have a strong hotel inventory of 140,000 hotel rooms and hotel apartments.

“As we speak, a number of hotel operators are floating tenders for wooden beds, tables, and wooden interior products to offer greater comfort to hotel guests. This is going to be a great driver of demand for wooden products,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service