The furniture sector in India only makes a marginal contribution to the formation of GDP, representing just a small percentage (about 0.5%).
Among all the types of furniture used, office furniture segment is the one that boasts the most important companies, both from the point of view of size and of the technological innovation of the production. The furniture industry employs a total of around 300,000 workers.
The total production of furniture in 2001-02 ( according to Annual survey of Industry) was USD 3580 million.
Foreign trade picture with regard to furniture is not very impressive. In 2000, India ranked 48th among furniture exporters and 49th among importers. This situation can be explained by he high import duty applied, and on the other hand, from the low technological level of Indian companies and the local tastes and traditions that influence the style of the products offered, making them difficult to export.
According to data for index of industrial production, as many as 14 of the 17 two-digit industry groups have shown positive growth during the month of January 2005 as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. However, Wood Products; Furniture and Fixtures' have shown a negative growth of 16.7%.
The more recent data shown in the table below , obtained from ministry of commerce, shows the trend in this category over the past 6 months.
| Aug'2004 | 72 |
| Sep'2004 | 75.5 |
| Oct'2004 | 71.8 |
| Nov'2004 | 71.5 |
| Dec'2004 | 71.7 |
| Jan'2005 | 69 |
