Chen Baoguang, Vice President of the China National Furniture Association, speaks at a press conference Tuesday afternoon in Beijing (CHEN RAN)

Farmers in rural China have the right to enjoy high-quality furniture at low prices, an industry official said in Beijing.

Chen Baoguang, Vice President of the China National Furniture Association, made the remarks at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

A program aiming to help more than 900 million farmers nationwide gain access to high-quality furniture at low cost will be formally launched by the China National Furniture Association in Jiangsu Province in early June.

"It is a self-regulating industry behavior, which, on the one hand, will support the Central Government's effort to expand domestic demand, and on the other hand help the whole furniture industry's strategic re-adjustment," Chen said.

Chen said the double-digit growth of the country's furniture industry in the past two decades is back to single digits due to the global economic slowdown. There is less room for market growth in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, but the rural market is far from reaching saturation since farmers have little access to affordable, high-quality furniture.

Currently, there are four furniture markets in China--Lecong in Guangdong Province in the south, Xianghe in Hebei Province in the north, Likou in Jiangsu Province in the east and Chengdu in Sichuan Province in the southwest. The four markets and the association, according to Chen, will form a "4+1" alliance to set up a platform and push forward the program in the future. The first 35 recommended furniture corporations will be committed to and responsible for providing high-quality furniture at low prices for farmers after signing agreements with the association.

"The rural furniture market will take time to nurture and develop," Chen said. "We are confident that the program will be a win-win solution for both farmers and the industry."