These units operate in a single shift and their work-time is cut by power outages. A visit to the cluster revealed that barring a few, most units use out-dated tools and employ manual labour. Furniture has to be well-designed, light in weight, small in size and made of superior wood to sell in local as well as global market. But production of quality furniture requires installation of modern machinery and plants which most units lack. The share of furniture in the total exports was just 0.05 per cent last year, fetching around $6.08 million in the first nine months.

Iftikhar Ali Mashwani, ex-president, Carpenters and Dealers Association, Mardan said that the district had 2900 small and big furniture factories till last year that employed over 12000 people, besides thousands others who earned livelihood in related activities. The Baghdada furniture cluster has 400 units employing six thousand workers, 37 of which are bigger factories.

There is another cluster in the city having nearly 300 furniture factories. “Around 10 per cent of the units earn between Rs0.5 million to Rs1million. The rest do an average daily business of around Rs30,000. Mardan's furniture industry contributes millions to the government in sales tax, income tax and other heads, said Mashwani.

Laiq Zamin, a furniture manufacturer, said the furniture production in the cluster was mostly seasonal and domestically oriented. “In winter, when marriages take place, the business is at peak while in summer the sales decline. In the past, we received orders from Swat and other districts in the north even in summer as marriage functions continue there due to pleasant weather,” he said.

“Malakand, FATA, southern districts of the province, parts of Hazara division and areas in Punjab constitute the main supply centres of furniture. However, Mardan furniture was preferred. But now due to law and order situation and displacement of Bajaur and Malakand residents, our sales have come down from an estimated Rs50 million to Rs5 million. The sales are likely to improve once people return to the region,” said Iftikhar.

“Only three to four hours of work is possible these days because of power shortage. If we use generators, our furniture loses competitive edge. Then our output per hour/day is too little to make up for the increased fuel cost. Order can't be executed in time. Workers have lost jobs as owners have closed factories. Load-shedding should be decreased or its timings changed,” said a worker, Imtiaz Ali.

He said that the furniture cluster has been neglected. “There is no dispensary, no first aid centre, no tube-lights, no firefighting or rescue equipments in the cluster. Neither there is any provision of water. The government should open a furniture city in line with one opened in Jalozai, near Peshawar and also build soon the promised second industrial estate in Mardan besides allocating considerable plots to the furniture industry therein. “The cluster should be protected from floods as the nullah near it outflows every rainy season. We should be provided plots on easy installments like the ones given in Multan. We should also be entitled to rebate in power rates. We should be given soft loans for purchase of modern machinery to boast output and sale,” he said.

Mardan had millions of sheesham trees which were used for quality furniture but have depleted over the years. Now sheesham wood has to be bought from Charsadda and other areas. “This has doubled the price of wood pushing up the cost of production. The government should encourage opening of a wood bank or a wood depot. NWFP possesses about 50 per cent of the country's forests area. These forests could help boost the furniture industry, if used prudently,” he said.

The labour including 40 per cent youngsters of school-going age, works on daily wages. The workers want an evening school for over 3000 children who work there. “We are doing what we can to protect workers but haven't been able to get any help from the government despite promises and detailed surveys,” Iftikhar lamented.

Hasan Mehmood Yousafazai, managing director of the Small Industries Development Board (SIDB) was not available for comments.

Sarmad Khan, manager at the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), NWFP, agreed that the cluster is the biggest in the province and needs support. However there is no specific development plan for it. The government was in the process forming Pakistan Furniture Development Company (PFDC) which hopefully would develop the furniture industry in Mardan as well, he added.

Sarmad Khan said the furniture industry should focus on designing beautiful home/office furnitures for the international market. “They should work for value-addition. Our industry also suffers from seasonal wood problem. Most of furniture makers use unripe wood that spoils the furniture soon. For this, a seasonal wood plant in Mardan is to be built by the PFDC.

We also should ensure standard packaging for our quality furniture meant for the international market. A wood working school

like the one in Peshawar should be opened in Mardan to develop skills of workers,” added Khan.