In Turkey, the furniture sector, which is a part of the forestry industry, dates back roughly as far as the 19th century in the form of small workshops and artisan production. Furniture production is carried on by both workshops and industrial-type manufacturing units. Workshop type production has a long history whereas most of the existing factories and big workshops have been constructed since 1975. Generally, every workshop produces a different style of furniture.

There has been a substantial growth in exports over the period 1991-94. The total exports of furniture increased from 16 million dollars in 1991 to roughly 46 million dollars in 1994. This is mainly due to developments in the improvement of the quality of Turkish furniture production.

Turkish furniture is exported mainly to the EU countries, Middle Eastern countries, Commonwealth of Independent States, the U.S.A. and Japan.