Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – The fourth Vietnam ASEAN International Furniture and Home Accessories Fair (VIFA ASEAN 2026) opened in Ho Chi Minh City on September 2, bringing together nearly 200 domestic and international businesses and creating opportunities for Vietnamese furniture and handicraft products to expand into global markets.

The four-day event, taking place at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), is jointly organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Ho Chi Minh City Branch (VCCI-HCM), Lien Minh VIFA Corp. and the Vietnam Association of Building Materials (VABM).

VIFA ASEAN 2026 is the second event in a series of major autumn furniture fairs in Asia. The series includes KOFURN in the Republic of Korea from August 27-30, VIFA ASEAN in Vietnam from September 2-5, CIFF & WMF in China from September 5-8, MAISON SHANGHAI from September 7-10, and FURNITURE CHINA from September 8-11.

The organisers said the series allows international buyers to make better use of their time while giving them more opportunities to source products from manufacturers in the region.

VIFA ASEAN aims to bring together furniture businesses from ASEAN countries in Ho Chi Minh City and help establish the city as a regional trading hub for indoor and outdoor furniture.

Alongside Vietnamese furniture, home accessories and handicraft producers, the fair features companies from the US, Canada, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Bangladesh, Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia.

Vu Ba Phu, Director General of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, described VIFA ASEAN as a prestigious annual event that is eagerly anticipated by the wood, furniture and handicraft industries in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

He said the fair goes beyond product displays, providing a venue for Vietnamese businesses to connect with international partners, exchange experience, keep up with consumer trends and explore opportunities arising from global supply chains.

Tran Ngoc Liem, VCCI Deputy Secretary General and Director of VCCI-HCM, said Vietnam’s wood and furniture sector had recorded impressive growth, with exports exceeding 17.2 billion USD in 2025 and a trade surplus of more than 13.9 billion USD.

In the first seven months of 2026, exports of wood and wood products continued to grow, exceeding 10.2 billion USD, while the trade surplus topped 8 billion USD.

However, Liem said export figures alone do not show how much value Vietnamese businesses create and retain in global supply chains.

International buyers are increasingly looking beyond price and product quality, paying more attention to design, innovation, material sourcing, traceability, environmental standards, sustainability, delivery times and suppliers’ ability to meet long-term demand, he noted.

These requirements are pushing Vietnam’s furniture industry to move from relying on production capacity to creating greater value, from contract manufacturing to design, and from producing to order to proactively developing products – shifting from “Made in Vietnam” toward “Designed in Vietnam.”

A series of industry seminars held during the fair from September 2-5 will provide updates on market conditions and emerging trends, while promoting closer links among design, production, import-export and e-commerce in the furniture sector./.