ASAHIKAWA, Hokkaido — Makers of high-end furniture in and around this city in central Hokkaido are planning to expand their sales to rich Chinese, at a time when the domestic furniture industry is losing ground to mass-produced cheap products from China.

According to industry statistics from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, shipments of domestically produced furniture and accessories, which peaked in 1991 at about ¥4.15 trillion in value, had plunged more than half to some ¥1.88 trillion in 2008.

Chinese products have grabbed a huge share of the domestic market.