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In 2020-21, China replaced the United States as India's biggest trading partner. As per United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, during 2020 China has exported furniture totaling $1.49B.
The majority of furniture produced in India is low quality, because the country doesn't have the manufacturing infrastructure to create higher-quality goods at competitive prices. Many manufacturers in China continue to improve their designs by inviting foreign designers and paying attention to world trends, resulting in the quality of products far exceeding those produced in India. The Chinese manufacturer's willingness to invest in research and development has enabled them to remain very competitive in the international markets. Thus, it's understandable that even the biggest western online and shops and retailers import furniture from China and resell them for a substantial profit.
When buying furniture from China, customers from India have many benefits that they can enjoy:
Variety of the products - You'll find a broad selection of designs in China that will fit most everyone's tastes. You can find all styles of furniture, ranging from classical to contemporary, Scandinavian to minimalist designs.
Price - Manufacturing in China has been improved drastically by constantly raising the product quality to a higher level, updating and improving the technical parameters of each product, and persistently exploring new ways of innovation. This enabled them to sell furniture at lower prices than their competitors.
Quality - Because of advanced production techniques, Chinese manufacturers are capable of producing better quality products. Due to the utilization of advanced machinery, technology, and skilled labor, products produced by them are superior.
Product customization - Customized furniture is a great way to provide a touch of individuality. Furniture manufacturers in China can produce products based on customer-selected specifications. Customized products can be made in accordance with the client requirements. From the selection of materials, to custom designs and finishes the customers have full control over the products design.
On average, when buying from China, you'll save over 50% of the cost on furniture, building materials, and interior accessories.
There are a variety of furniture markets and malls in China. Some of them offer the lowest prices, but their quality may be questionable. If you're looking for quality and pricing that meet your standards, here are the best ones to visit:
This widely popular furniture mall offers a selection of everything from contemporary to traditional and minimalist designs. If you're looking for high-end designer furniture, this mall will not disappoint. Great furniture, great prices, beautiful designs, and a fantastic shopping experience.
Shunde market covers a wide spectrum of furniture from 1500 manufacturers. You can find every type of furniture here, ranging from luxury to medium quality furniture. In Lecong, China’s capital of furniture manufacturing, Shunde Empire Furniture Market is the largest furniture wholesale center which has been around for decades, covering a total area of over 60,000 square meters.
The Lecong Red Star Macalline Wholesale Center has over 120,000 square feet of retail space and offers almost 2000 brands of Chinese furniture. The center opened in 2009 and is owned by the Shanghai Red Star Macalline group. Red Star Macalline not only has a wide selection of furniture but also has a full range of design and decorating materials for your home. This mall shows off the latest trends in furnishings and décor, and the best part is the prices are generally reduced during some seasons.
There are different ways to buy products from China.
The most popular way to search for manufacturers are the giant online platforms like Alibaba or Made in China. However, the experience of finding the right product will be overwhelming, since there are literally hundreds of thousands products to choose from ranging from lower quality to medium. This is not a recommended shopping experience. Besides that, there are a lot of scams involved and the risk of getting bad products is huge. Imagine buying furniture worth of more than $50000 usd and receiving not what you were expecting, defect products or different materials used.
This is the best way to get high-quality furniture for your house, hotel, restaurant or any other property you need. The sourcing agents are really knowledgeable about the furniture industry in China. Their work experience and their relationships with factories give you a huge advantage. They help you find factories that produce products in your price range and chosen style. They negotiate prices, conditions, and order follow-up with the factory. The agents inspect the products before shipping to ensure quality.
For all of your furniture purchases, we offer door-to-door service, and we'll help you locate the best possible rates and quality for your needs. Just tell us what you're looking for and we get back to you with our recommendations.
We provide an integrated service for all of your furniture purchases. Just tell us what you're looking for and we'll get back to you with the best solution — the option that will give you both top quality and the best price.
China has several furniture exhibitions per year. They are a good way to find out what the latest trends, designs and materials are. You may want to take advantage of these opportunities to buy good furniture.
-China International Furniture Fair (CIFF)
-Guangzhou Canton Fair (CF)
When you're importing furniture from China, the most common way to ship is with sea freight.
Depending on the size of your order, you will get an LCL container or a FCL full container load. If you want to furnish your house or apartment, get enough items so you can fill at least a small 20 ft container. If you need more products you will choose the 40ft container. It’s the least expensive method of shipping your furniture to your closest port in India.
If you order an LCL (Less than Container Load) shipment from China, your goods will be placed in a sea container along with other importers' goods and transported to India.
You can ship 1-15 cubic meters of goods using LCL shipments, which is ideal for smaller loads. For larger loads, you should use FCL shipments, which we’ll explain next.
FCL (Full Container Load) shipments are used when the volume of goods being shipped exceeds 15 cubic meters. Our shipping partners will handle the delivery of your cargo, prepare and fill all the necessary import documents for you.
Shipping from China to India with a sea freight shipment takes between 15 and 30 days. Depending on the departure port in China and the arrival port in India, the exact transit time will vary.
If we ship from Port of Guangzhou to the most popular ports in India the average transit times will be:
JNPT - 20-25 days
Mumbai - 20-30 days
Visakhapatnam - 25-35 days
Chennai - 20-28 days
Kolkata - 22-28 days
Mangalore - 23-27 days
Tuticorin - 22-30 days
The cost of shipping your products from China to India depend on the Incoterm selected, your supplier address, quantity and mode of transportation. Since the container crisis prices change every hour, thus it is difficult to give an estimation without knowing the orders size, delivery address and so on.
It's important to have all relevant documents when importing furniture from China to India. There are a few important documents that you'll need:
Commercial Invoice and a packing list
When you're importing from China, two documents are obligatory: a Packing List and a Commercial Invoice. A shipping “packing list” or a “packing slip,” is a document that specify the volume, type, and quantity of products shipped.
A commercial invoice is a document outlining value of all goods being exported. Your supplier will provide you with this set of documents.
The price of an imported product is not necessarily the same as the value of the product, because there are other costs involved. These costs are taken into account by the customs department, which determines the value of an import, based on the cost of the imported goods, including freight, insurance, and other expenses, also know as the CIF value of the goods.
The custom duty on imported furniture from China is 27.5% of the CIF value (Cost+Insurance+Freight).
The valuation of goods at the border can be complicated as the worth of goods is often calculated as their total value, rather than their price. In addition to the import duties, GST will also be payable.
GST - 18% (out of CIF value + Custom duty)
We've been helping our clients avoid problems with India's customs department for over 15 years.
Maybe you're building a house and need to furnish it, or you are remodeling it, we can supply the best furniture at reasonable prices. Or maybe you are looking to furnish a restaurant, a hotel or a real estate and don't know where to purchase quality furniture and stunning designs at cost-effective prices?
We assist you with all aspects of your purchase and delivery. We do the research so you don't have to, and we find you the best possible product and price.
We've done our best to give you the information you need to import furniture from China, but if you have any questions about any step of the process, feel free to contact us now.
