New York – ''The export business is picking up and I'm optimistic about 2000,'' said Angelo Brenna, vice president, export for Burlington House upholstery.

''We're especially bullish about the Far East. We're seeing orders from Korea, Thailand and Indonesia for the first time in a year. This is a big improvement. This will also have a positive effect on South America.''

Brenna said that Mexico has bounced back completely. ''Mexico is our number one market. He said that if the Mexican market came back in two years, China would develop also.

Burlington had its first showing in China about a year ago and hopes to gain a decent market share there. ''There was a lot of traffic,'' Brenna said. ''Even if we just had 10 percent of the Chinese market, that would be about 100 million people. There are no more people wearing Chinese outfits and a lot less bicycles. Mercedes and skyscrapers are everywhere in Shanghai.

''Some of the American exhibitors didn't get their goods in time because they didn't use designated freight forwarders,'' he said. ''The goods stayed in Shanghai and were not cleared through customs. The Chinese government still has its hands on the controls.''