CEBU CITY – As hopes of recovery for the global economy by 2010 firm up, furniture exporters in Cebu have started rehiring more workers as demand for their products are slowly picking up, industry players said.

“Exporters are now optimistic about the prospects of the global industry next year compared to this year and the last. There are a number of firms now beginning to rehire workers,” said Fred Escalona, executive director of Philexport-Cebu.

The group is a confederation of Cebu-based export organizations including furniture, fashion accessories, seaweed, gifts toys and houseware manufacturers, among others.

Although Escalona was unable to quantify the total number of rehired workers for Cebu’s export industry, he assured that exporters, especially the furniture sector, are beginning to feel the improving conditions in the US housing industry as indicated by more inquiries from US-based clients.

The US is the top destination for Philippine furniture exports, comprising about 60 percent of the total market.

“Orders for furniture pieces and home furnishings from Cebu are slowly coming in as new home sales in the US grew last July and many others are beginning to renovate their homes,” Escalona told the Manila Bulletin.

Earlier, Cebu-based Giadini del Sole Inc., a wooden furniture manufacturing and exporting company, rehired 50 of its former employees as it registered an increase in orders from their foreign clients in the last two months.

At the height of the global financial crisis last year, the firm retrenched 150 of its 500 workers due to decrease in orders.

Giardini del Sole, established in 1991, exports 90 percent of its products to the United States, Italy and Norway.

“If the furniture industry in Cebu is optimistic, the rest of the export groups are also optimistic. If we recall, the furniture industry was the most badly hit of all these sectors when the US housing industry plummeted,” said Escalona.

Philexport Cebu Chairman Allan Suarez, for his part, said renewed confidence of the international market towards the US economy is forcing local exporters to cope with the “abrupt demand.”

“Local export furniture makers should be able to produce goods at a faster rate since lead time for orders are now shorter compared to before since buyers are now keeping their inventories and volume of orders low,” he said.