Furniture exports drop amid euro decline

Romania”s furniture exports dropped 2.9% in RON in the first nine months of this year from the corresponding period of 2004, in line with data released by the Association of Furniture Producers in Romania (Asociatia Producatorilor de Mobila din Romania – APMR).

In euros, though, exports surged by 9.3%, from 600 million euros (736 million dollars), to 656.42 million euros (829 million dollars) amid the depreciation of the single European currency. The European Union absorbs 85% of the merchandise delivered by Romanian manufacturers. In dollars, exports went up 13%. At the same time, in terms of quantity, furniture exports on foreign markets were higher.

Most market players are seeing a decline in exports, which they ground on the foreign exchange rate evolution.

“The main factor that pushed exports lower was the decline of the European currency,” stated Aurel Rizea, APMR chairman.

Romanian furniture exporting companies will face a difficult year, says the APMR official, since many of them have lost contracts worth dozens of millions of euros, and even had to downsize.

“Whereas we used to report profit margins of 7-8%, the furniture industry is now seeing zero profit or even losses,” Rizea explained.

Romanian furniture exports are mainly destined to European Union countries, a region attracting about 85% of the entire exported volume. France benefits from about 18% of Romanian exported furniture, the same as Germany, followed by countries such as Italy, the Netherlands and England.

On the other hand, the value of imports calculated in RON rose by about 37 percentage points. “Imports largely come from Poland, as furniture from this country is more affordable, but the quality is lower,” said Rizea.

Other major importers, according to Rizea, are based in Germany, France and Italy. The total value of imports registered in the first nine months of this year amounted to 154 million euros (194.6 million dollars), up 55% on the corresponding period of last year.

“Silvarom”s exports for the first nine months dropped 18.05% from the same period of last year,” stated Ion Margineanu, the economic manager of Bucharest-based furniture producer Silvarom.

On the other hand, importers are witnessing higher sales, with Grand Feria, for instance, the only importer of furniture from Spain, having reported 50% growth from the corresponding period of last year. In this context, the new trend among Romanian exporters seems to be reorientation toward the domestic market.

ioana.david@zf.ro