KARACHI: Soaring furniture prices amid squeezing buying power owing to high rate of inflation and rising unemployment has forced many more families to seek monetary assistance from philanthropic communities/societies for arranging furniture sets for dowry purposes, dealers said.

This trend is on the rise due to meteoric increase in the furniture prices otherwise it is very hard for families from lower middle class to arrange dowry requirements on their own.

A dealer at Arambagh Furniture Market said that two years back a medium quality bedroom set (three-door wardrobe, dressing table, double-bed and a divider) used to cost Rs25,000-Rs30,000 either of Sheesham Partex wood or deco, which was now priced at Rs35,000-Rs40,000.

‘The price of better quality furniture has surged to Rs65,000-Rs70,000 from Rs50,000. However, price also varies depending on locality,’ he added.

The manufacturers of various furniture related-items almost every year increase their prices with the start of wedding season creating problems for already cash-starved families.

Keeping in view the poor financial condition of majority of buyers, about 70-80 per cent furniture dealers in the city have put on display average-quality furniture, the dealer said.

He said a new trend had emerged in deco furniture as makers now started using fibre for innovative exterior designs instead of expensive engraving wood works, which saves them hugely on cost.

A dowry set of fibre work (one double bed, dressing table, one divider and one three-door wardrobe) costs Rs100,000-Rs130,000, while the price of wood-work set ranges Rs250,000-Rs300,000.

Buyers who usually can’t differentiate between fibre and wood are deceived by some dealers who sell them fibre-made furniture at the price of engraved wood work.

The furniture dealers take out the maximum from the buyers’ pocket on the pretext of rising cost of production, but give meagre wages/salaries to their hard-working labour despite having sharply raised furniture prices.

A polisher of wooden furniture, who has been doing this for decades, said that he had been getting a monthly salary of just Rs5,000 and no increase had been made by the contractor of furniture for years.

Dealers said the prices had gone up by 70-80 per cent during the last two years, while Karachi Furniture Dealers Group (KFDG) chairman Atiq Mir said that there was 30-40 per cent increase due to surging prices of raw materials.

Due to rising prices of furniture, not only rich and community people help their people, many family members also play an active role in arranging money for dowry related furniture.

Mr Atiq said the price of wood surged to Rs1,500 per square ft from Rs500 two years back followed by 20 per cent increase in chip board, 40 per cent in paint, 30 per cent in glass, 25 per cent in foam, 15pc in spring mattress, 100pc in hard board and 30 per cent in hardware.

He said rising input cost also hit the furniture exports which slumped by 23 per cent in value to $7,522,000 in July-May 2008-09 from $9,760,000 in the same period last fiscal year.