Furniture output worth $670 million

The furniture production in the first nine months of this year is worth approximately 22,000bn ROL ($670 million), up 12.7% from the same time last year, the data supplied by the Association of Furniture Producers in Romania (APMR) show.

The main furniture types produced were: bedrooms – 15.3% of the total, living rooms – 13.5%, small furniture – 12.6%, chairs – 10.7%, office furniture – 5.9%. At the moment, there are about 2,100 factories and small furniture workshops on the market, which export most of their output. “The furniture export accounts for more than 80% of the actual output. Exports in the first nine months were 25.6% higher than in the same time last year, amounting to $550 million,” Aurel Rizea, APMR chairman told Ziarul Financiar. He says the furniture exported falls into the high value added category, i.e. classic living rooms and bedrooms made of valuable wood (such as oak, cherry, lime or nut tree wood), but also includes modern products either by design, finishing or accessories. “In addition, we are seeing an increase in the share of office, commercial and kitchen furniture,” Rizea added.

The main destinations of the furniture exports were the European Union countries, with Germany as the main outlet, attracting 19.3% of the total exports. France comes second – 18%, followed by Holland – 11.4% and Italy – 10.1%. Italy is not only one of the top consumers of Romanian furniture but also one of the top suppliers. Italian furniture imports in Romania accounted for 32.4% of the total imports in the first half. “Imports of furniture in the first nine months amounted to $97.1 million, up 33% from last year, and we estimate to go beyond the 2002 figures, i.e. $105.3 million this year,” the APMR chairman added. He says this import growth was due to the modern design mainly. “The Italian, German and French furniture was chosen by a number of higher-income consumers even though it was more expensive, because of its modern design or built-in appliances supplied by top companies, although the materials are no different than those used for the Romanian furniture. On the other hand, the Poland-made furniture was chosen by certain lower-income consumers because of its lower prices compared to Romanian products and of the better delivery terms, even though not all the materials used
are high quality,” Rizea explained.
miruna.lebedencu@zf.ro