KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 — Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF), the industry’s largest marketplace in Southeast Asia, has topped the billion-dollar sales mark for the first time in its 25-year history.

Its organiser, United Business Media (M) Sdn Bhd (UBM Malaysia), said exhibitors at MIFF 2019 raked in US$1.01 billion (RM4.21 billion) in sales over the four days starting March 8, a three per cent increase from the previous high of US$984 million in 2018.

The record performance was achieved a year after the trade show was expanded to 100,000 square metres across the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre and the Putra World Trade Centre with design as its cornerstone, it said in a statement today.

A total of 600 exhibitors from 14 countries — 346 Malaysian and 254 foreign companies —  showcased new products and collections under the theme "Design Connects People”.

UBM Malaysia said MIFF 2019 attracted 20,478 visitors, including 6,112 global buyers from 130 countries and regions, which was an increase of four per cent from last year.

Traffic was significantly higher from North America and the Far East while numbers remained stable from Southeast Asia, South Asia, Australasia, Europe, Africa and South America, it said.

"Celebrating our 25th anniversary with a milestone like this is certainly something that we are proud of. It is the best endorsement of MIFF by the markets, but what makes us most proud is that we continue to place our customers and their business priorities first even as we are on a strong growth path,” said MIFF general manager Karen Goi.

MIFF boasts the biggest export platform for Malaysian wood furniture and office furniture in Southeast Asia.

The next edition of the annual trade show would be from March 6-9, 2020, at the same two venues which had already drawn strong re-bookings from exhibitors satisfied by the continuing diversity of attendance and high-quality buyers this year, UBM Malaysia said. — Bernama