Portuguese furniture exports increased to the record value of almost 1,000 million euros in the first semester, 9% more than in the same period of 2020 and 5% above 2019, announced the sector association.
In a statement, the Portuguese Association of Furniture and Related Industries (APIMA) states that this result “confirms the prospects for resumption of the growth that the ‘cluster’ had been registering in the last decadeeven with the impacts of the pandemic, with a growth of 5% compared to the first half of 2019″.
According to him, these numbers “reveal the consolidation of the trend of international affirmation of the sectorswith emphasis on the French, Spanish and American markets”.
Thus, between January and June 2022, the companies of the furniture and related cluster added almost 1,000 million euros in foreign sales, exceeding by 9% the values registered in the same period of the previous year, with the main commercial markets of the demonstrated cluster. “a positive performance compared to the previous year”.
France, responsible for 33.84% of national exports, imported 6.66% more than in the same period of 2021, followed by Spain, with a share of 24.60%. The American market remained the third most relevant, registering a year-on-year variation of 38.66%, followed by Germany (4.70%) and the United Kingdom (20.42%).
Quoted in the statement, the president of APIMA says he is “satisfied with the results obtained, in a particularly challenging environment, driven by scarcity of raw materialsproduction and transportation costs.
“We cannot, however, believe that these conditions will not seriously affect the economic activity of this ‘cluster'”, emphasizes Joaquim Carneiro.
On the other hand, the resumption of major international fairs, such as Maison&Objet, Tortona Design Week or Portugal Home Week, is being very positive for the ‘cluster’, since it allows it to present the excellence of national production and the complementarity of its offer to international level”, he adds, highlighting that it is “a very exporting ‘cluster’ that sees in the fairs an enormous possibility of closing business with its clients”.
Until June, the trade balance of the sector”remained substantially positive“, at 401 million euros, with a rate of coverage of imports by exports of 169%.
“Thus – highlights the association – “the furniture and related ‘cluster’ is one of the largest exporters in the national economy, with around 90% of production destined for foreign markets”.
Source: Observadora
