Thailand's furniture industry should increasingly depend on intra-ASEAN markets in order to move away from Europe and the US, which have been experiencing economic downturns.

"Intra-ASEAN trade is set to increase, especially once the ASEAN Economic Community kicks off in 2015. For Thailand, it's an opportunity to expand the market, in which our strength lies in the reputation of the quality of the products," said Dhanakorn Kasetrsuwan, vice-chairman of the ASEAN Furniture Industries Council and the CEO of La-Z-Boy Asia Co Ltd.

Vongkot Tangsubkul, president of the Federation of Thai Industries's furniture club, said ASEAN countries should emphasise the uniqueness of their products in order to stand out from competitors. Thailand's main competitor in Asia is China.